Mapbox has announced Mapbox for EV, an end-to-end solution for electric vehicles that the company says accurately predicts available range, helps discover the best charging locations and enables payments directly from the infotainment screen at the charging location. Mapbox for EV comes as an option in the in-car navigation application Mapbox Dash, or it can be integrated into any in-car or mobile application via Mapbox cloud APIs.
When planning for a long trip, many EV drivers manually search for charging stations across multiple mobile apps to determine which are ideal charging stops out of dozens of options. The company says Mapbox for EV simplifies the process by combining range prediction, charge station discovery and payment all in one place.
The company says Mapbox for EV accurately predicts the state of the vehicle’s charge for the selected destination and suggests ideal charging stations along a planned route. To do so, it takes into account the vehicle’s current state of charge, charge depletion curve, individual driving habits, ambient temperature, speed and slope of the route. Mapbox for EV also includes up-to-date charge-point pricing information, supported plugs, charging speed, access hours, real-time availability and descriptions on how to find the charging station. In addition, Mapbox for EV captures charging location information, charging success/failure and feeds this information back into the system in near-real time, improving the experience for all connected drivers.
The company says that with Mapbox for EV, drivers can pay for charging directly from the vehicle’s infotainment system or companion app, eliminating the need to install network-specific applications for charging. Mapbox offers integrations with an automaker’s existing wallet solutions or a white-labeled wallet enabling car makers to offer payments via credit card or Automated Clearing House (ACH). For charge point operators, the solution provides a way to integrate loyalty program signups and memberships. Currently, Blink, ChargePoint, SemaConnect, Circuit Electrique, and Switch integrate seamless payments with Mapbox for EV.
