Bosch launches app-based EV charging network

Bosch has launched a new mobile app that gives electric vehicle (EV) drivers access to more than 150,000 charging points across Europe.

The Charge My EV app is available to private and business customers and allows users to find and pay for charging with a clear breakdown of costs.

Currently, the network can provide access to 4,470 chargepoints in the UK.

“With our recharging services, we are developing a universal key to one of the biggest pan-European recharging networks. In doing so, we are making electromobility even more viable,” says Elmar Pritsch, the president of the Connected Mobility Solutions division of Robert Bosch GmbH.

The company says it wants to put an end to the plethora of recharging access cards. It claims that nearly one in two of all electric-car drivers use two to four different cards to access charge spots, and 15% percent of them use at least five cards.

To use the Bosch recharging services, by contrast, a single sign-on in the smartphone app is all that is needed. This means that it is at last possible for drivers to recharge wherever and whenever they want, without the inconvenience of first having to register at a previously unused charge spot.

The company is also developing an AI-led navigation and recharging solution, which it says allows car makers and fleet operators to keep drivers and electric vehicles constantly up-to-date on remaining range and where they can recharge their battery.

It can automatically re-route the driver to a different charge-point if the desired one becomes occupied and drivers can also instruct the system to look for charge spots close to restaurants or locations with free Wi-Fi.

Bosch will offer its solutions as a white label product for charge-spot finders provided by automakers, fleet operators, and mobility service providers.