Kia launches Plug&Charge, seamless electric vehicle charging technology

As a leading automaker, Kia will launch a seamless, safe plug-and-charge experience in Europe

BERLIN, Germany, September 29, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — Kia is introducing Plug&Charge technology to its European electric vehicles. Plug&Charge will be equipped on the EV9 when it is launched and will be gradually rolled out to the rest of Kia’s electric fleet. This charging technology allows Kia customers to connect their electric vehicles to any public charging station that supports Plug&Charge. Since authentication is fully automated, no additional identification or intermediate steps are required to initiate the charging process. By introducing Plug&Charge into its electric vehicles, Kia is providing its customers with the latest in fast, safe and convenient charging technology.

“Plug and Charge is a very convenient technology that reduces manual work, resulting in a faster and smoother process for our customers,” said Sjoerd Knipping, Vice President Marketing and Product, Kia Europe. “By offering our customers electric vehicles alongside state-of-the-art charging solutions, we are paving the way for the shift to sustainable mobility and proving ourselves to be a strong contender in Europe’s highly competitive electric vehicle market.”

Fully automatic, simple and safe charging

Plug&Charge is essentially an identification method built directly into the vehicle, allowing the car to communicate with Plug&Charge-enabled charging stations. Customers simply connect their vehicle to the charging station and the charging process automatically begins. The service covers all bases in terms of security, so no additional steps are required. Until now, customers first needed to verify their account at a charging point before they could start charging, which was usually done via an RFID card or through a mobile app like Kia Charge.

The fully secure Plug&Charge service utilizes the automatic exchange of digital certificates between the car and the charger, which identify the customer’s account and the charging contract associated with the driver’s Kia Charge account. The Hubject Plug&Charge ecosystem manages the exchange of certificates between Plug&Charge stakeholders: Charging Point Operators (CPOs), Mobile Operators (MOs) and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). The communication complies with the international standard ISO 15118.

Plug&Charge will simplify the charging process without negating the benefits of the Kia Charge app: navigation features, real-time updates on charging costs and availability, and the ability to apply filtering options such as plug type, charging speed and access type information quickly available to EV drivers public electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Using this seamless charging technology, customers can simply disconnect the car and drive away when charging is complete, while payments will be added to their monthly bill according to the terms of the contract.

“We at Kia, together with partners such as DCS (mobile provider), Hubject (plug and charge service provider) and multiple network partners such as IONITY, are using all available technologies to improve the customer experience,” Knipping concluded. Plug and Charge joins Kia Connect, Kia Charge and Kia Smart Charging to form Kia’s advanced charging technology portfolio.

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About Kia Europe

Kia Europe is the European sales and manufacturing arm of Kia Corporation, a global mobility brand dedicated to creating innovative, pioneering and leading sustainable mobility solutions for consumers, communities and society around the world. As a provider of sustainable mobility solutions, Kia is leading the adoption of electric and battery-electric vehicles and developing a growing range of mobility services to encourage people around the world to discover the best ways to get around.

 

Kia Europe, headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, has more than 5,500 employees from 37 countries in 39 markets in Europe and the Caucasus. It also oversees European production at the company’s state-of-the-art factory in Žilina, Slovakia.

 

Kia’s innovative products continue to receive critical acclaim, especially with the EV6 pure electric vehicle becoming the first Korean car to win the 2022 European Car of the Year title.

For more information visit: www.press.kia.com

About Hubject

Hubject simplifies charging electric vehicles. With Plug&Charge, Hubject has created a service that allows charge point operators (CPOs), mobile operators (MOs) and electric vehicle manufacturers (OEMs) to provide a seamless and safe charging experience to their customers. To implement the Plug&Charge service, Hubject operates its own V2G root public key infrastructure, Plug&Charge ecosystem, and open test environment for ISO 15118-2 and ISO 15118-20 standards. For more information about Plug&Charge, please visit https://www.hubject.com/plug-charge-ecosystem and https://de.hubject.com/ecosystem-overview or contact plugandcharge@hubject.com.

Through its eRoaming platform intercharge, the eMobility specialist connects charge point operators (CPOs) and eMobility service providers (EMPs) to provide standardized access to charging infrastructure, regardless of network. Hubject has built the world’s largest cross-provider charging network for electric vehicles by connecting more than 600,000 connected charging points and a CPO network of more than 2,000 B2B partners across 60 countries and four continents. In addition, Hubject is a trusted consulting partner to the EV market, advising automakers, charging providers and other EV-related businesses looking to launch EV services.

Essentially, Hubject promotes electric mobility and its advancements globally. Founded in 2012, Hubject is a joint venture between BMW Group, Bosch, EnBW, Enel X, E.ON, Mercedes-Benz, Siemens and Volkswagen Group. Hubject is headquartered in Berlin with subsidiaries in Los Angeles and Shanghai.

Christian Hahn
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