Electric Vehicle Drivers Can Ask Alexa to Find Charging Station and Pay for the Juice
Alexa will tell drivers where they can charge their electric vehicles (EV) starting later this year, Amazon announced at CES. EV drivers will be able to use the voice assistant to locate and get directions to more than 150,000 U.S. public charging stations and pay by voice for the juice as part of a partnership with the charging network EVgo.
Alexa EV
Drivers with Alexa access in their car will be able to ask for nearby public charging stations later this year. The voice assistant will provide information on availability and plug type, as well as navigate the driver to the station. The EVgo partnership means that the driver can also set up and pay for the charge by asking Alexa to “pay for my charge.” There are currently around 850 EVgo stations in the U.S., but EVgo recently inked a deal with GM to build more than 3,250 by 2025.
“The EV charging experience is a lot more fragmented than for gas customers, who can pretty much stop at any location,” Amazon Smart Vehicles vice president Anes Hodžić said. “We want Alexa to be useful for customers in their everyday lives, and EV charging is a great example of a task that can be simplified and made more convenient through the power of AI.”
Alexa began integrating with EVs back in 2019 with Byton’s M-Byte SUV but has grown to count many major vehicle brands among its hosts. The company has widened its reach and continued deeper connections with carmakers like BMW and Ford, as well as a deal with auto giant Stellantis to incorporate Alexa in millions of cars. Stellantis counts a couple of dozen big vehicle brands under its umbrella, the result of a merger by FCA and Groupe PSA.
The newest announcement follows the news that Amazon and Panasonic have partnered to give drivers with Apple CarPlay access to both Alexa and Siri at the same time. Meanwhile, Amazon’s work on the Alexa Auto SDK has been pushing its visual options and deepening local connections. The Alexa Auto SDK 4.0 arrived last year with enhanced multi-modal offerings and updated ways to exchange data between third-party OEM skills and Alexa so that the skills can apply more information and improve their performance.
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Amazon and Panasonic Partnership Brings Simultaneous Alexa and Siri Access in Apple CarPlay
