Have you ever been stuck on the road in an electric vehicle because the battery’s power ran out? If yes, then you know the reason why you need an EV charging station finder app. Since the last few years, it has been noticed that a major chunk of the world’s population is motivated to use electric vehicles. Governments of various countries are promoting the use of electric vehicles by offering discounts on taxes. With all these things, it seems like electric vehicles are the future of transportation. Today, there are not as many electric vehicles on the road as compared to fuel-based vehicles, and that’s clearly the reason why one needs an app to find EV charging stations.
In the coming years, there will be EV charging stations at every popular stop, but for now, EV owners have to either charge their vehicle at home or find an EV charging station. The need for an app for finding the EV charging stations is growing every day; the reason being, every EV charging station offers services and add-ons at different rates, and some have different configurations. The market of the EV charging station finder app seems quite promising as in a few years from now; electric vehicles would be the majority on roads. If you want to develop an app to find an EV charging station, this is the time. But first, let’s find out more about this app.
EV Charging Station Finder App: What is it, and How it Works?
When you own an electric vehicle, it would need electricity to get charge and drive you to its set limit. The problem with the electric vehicles is the limited drive range that it delivers. You have to take steps at various charging stations that allow you to charge your vehicles for the next run. Various EV companies have installed their power stations in the countries which are scattered all over. In order to find these stations, EV owners need this app. These apps are designed to locate the nearest EV charging station to you and find the perfect route which consumes less power to get to the selected charging station.
Electric vehicles in the current times come in different shapes and sizes. Every EV manufacturer wants to make his product unique, as a result of which every other model of EV has different charging sockets. Now, let’s understand the situation with an example. Suppose you possess an EV of XYZ company and the charging station which is nearest to you doesn’t fit your vehicle’s charging requirements, then you have to find the one that does support your vehicle. That’s where these apps come into the picture.
How Does EV Charging Station Finder App Works?
These apps are designed to find you the nearest charging location that matches the requirements of the vehicle along with various other information. Charging spot app finder apps have a notably simple mechanism. Let’s understand the process step by step. The first thing you would do after downloading the application from the App/ Google play store is creating an account. The app would ask for vehicle information such as year of manufacturing, brand, model, and others.
After you are through the account creation part, the app will ask you to provide your current location. Once it locates you on the map, it will show you all the nearest charging stations that are available. Along with the location, you can sort the results as per connector type, payment modes, and much more. It would display you the updated rate of regular charging and fast charging. In case users find any charging spots on their way that are not listed on the app, they are allowed to add the same.
The Need for EV Charging Station Finder App
The world is moving towards a sustainable form of living, which simply means we have to limit the use of our natural resources, which includes fuels, among other things. People are now getting more aware of the environment and the factors that are destroying it, among which vehicle pollution is the major contributor. Countries all around the world are promoting the use of electric vehicles by delivering certain offers.
These factors have skyrocketed the sale of electronic vehicles everywhere, and the market has experienced a sudden boost in terms of revenue and user bases. Along with the electronic vehicle market, the need for these charging station finder apps also increased, and the market is now full of them.
The global market of electric vehicle charging systems stood at a valuation of 4,269.6 million US dollars in the year 2020. Due to the improvements and coherent popularity, the market has been projected to cross the valuation of 42,623.0 million US dollars by the year 2030.
The market conditions are in favor of the development of these charging stations finder apps. Apart from the app’s popularity, the number of electric vehicles on the road will shortly surpass the number of fuel-based cars. An increased number of E-vehicles on the road will surely enhance the rate of development of these apps.
Best Apps for Finding EV Charging Stations
App Store and Google play store is full of EV recharging spot finder app, but some of these apps have received significant ratings from the customers and have grabbed the top spots in the list.
1. ChargePoint:
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It is one of the most popular apps when it comes to EV recharging spot finder apps. Users love this app because of its result-oriented features and performance. It has a list of more than 100k+ charging stations that are located in the areas like rest areas, parking lots, garages, and more. It is available for both Android and iOS.
2. Charge Hub:
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It is quite famous among the EV drivers as it delivers them the current situation of a charging station along with the information of the connectors and the vacancy. Charge Hub also allows the users to chat with other EV owners to share their experiences. It is available for both Android and iOS.
3. EVgo:
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It is the most popular app that serves in more than 34 states of the USA. EVgo has a network of more than a thousand DC fast charging locations that are capable of recharging an electronic vehicle within an hour. It is available for both Android and iOS, but it charges ten US dollars.
Development Timeline of EV Charging Station Finder App
The development of the EV charging spot finder app is not that complicated as you may think. It takes a clear vision and a dedication to developing something that solves a real problem of the users of the company. However, the final result of the development process will majorly depend on the ability of the app development company that you chose. Let’s understand the development timeline.
1. Take the Market’s Opinion
The first step towards any project’s development should be to find the market’s opinion about the same. A deep market analysis is important to find out the challenges and the opportunities you will get in that particular genre. Find out about your competitors, their business strategies, along with the features and technology they use in their apps. The next step involves carrying out a survey to know the expectations of your target audience. However, you can also purchase these market research reports from various marketing websites on the web. These reports are categorized as per genre for better understanding.
2. Plan Everything
The next step after in-depth market analysis is; planning. Now you have a ton of insights to form a plan with. Use these insights to plan out every sector of the development process. Keep your potential user’s expectations in mind while planning various components of the development process. While developing a robust roadmap, you should plan about features, tech stack, platforms, and much more.
Features to be Included
The first thing users look for in an app is the list of features, whether it satisfies their needs or not. Remember, the success of any app depends on the functionality of its features. Here is the list of features that should be included in an EV charging station finder app.
- Onboarding: Allow users to create their accounts and show them a demo of the working of the app.
- Registration: Allow users to create their profile and provide some basic details about themselves and their vehicle.
- Filters: Allow users to filter out the results that match their requirements. It should allow filtering the results as per parameters like location, connecter type, amenities at the spot, and much more.
- Trip Planner: Allow users to plan their road trip as per the availability of the charging stations. It will plan the trip on the route that has the most charging stations.
- Reservation: Allow users to book a spot in advance at a specific charging station to avoid waiting in long queues.
- Add Station: Allow users to fill in the details of a new charging station that has not been listed on the app until that point. You can provide reward points for the same to the users.
- GPS and Navigation: Allow users to locate the nearest charging station on the map and find the best route to get there. You can use Google Maps integration for this feature.
- Seamless Payments: Allow users to pay for their vehicle charging, memberships, and any in-app purchases.
- Chatbot: Allow users to get the basic answers to the FAQs of the app. In case of emergency, it should alert the authorities.
Tech Stack to be Considered
The quality of your app and the features integrated into it will depend on your choice of the tech stack. Ask your team of mobile app developers to integrate a robust tech stack to ensure maximum customer satisfaction. Here is a generic tech stack that most of the apps of this genre use.
For Application and Data:
- jQuery
- NGINX
- Java
- Cloudflare
- Apache HTTP Server
- Bootstrap
- jQuery UI
- Amazon CloudFront
- js
- js
- Mustache
For Utilities:
- Google Analytics
- Google Tag Manager
- Mixpanel
- OpenSSL
For DevOps:
- New Relic
For Business Tools:
- Google Fonts
- Drupal
- Marketo
- WordPress
- Mailchimp
- Typekit
APIs:
- Ploughshare API
- Google Maps API
3. Design and Testing
When any user downloads your app, the first thing they notice is the UI/UX design of the app. The design should be extremely elegant but not too complex. Remember, you don’t want to scare away your customers with a complex design. Research various app designs and choose the one that fits your requirements. Ask your UI/UX designer to choose a simple color palette that soothes the eyes of the users. A minimalistic design would be the best choice for attracting a lot of customers.
After you have completed all the processes involved in the development of your EV charging station finder app, it’s time to test it to its limit. Testing is the most important part of the development process; ask your developers and engineers to test the app iteratively for any bugs and errors. Every error and bug should be resolved before the launching of the app. You don’t want your customers to use an app with an error. Aim to deliver a mesmerizing experience to the users, and your app will be on the top in no time.
Ready to Develop Your EV Charging Station Finder App?
The future is going to be full of extraordinary electric vehicles with amazing functionalities and features. With an increase in the demand for electric vehicles, the demand for the charging stations will also increase, which will ultimately increase the demand for these charging spots finder apps. Users of this genre expect quality and a great level of feasibility. If you are thinking of developing a charging spot finder app that matches the expectation of the users and surpasses the competition, we have the perfect solution for you.
Matellio has been developing robust, scalable, and feature-enriched mobile applications for more than a decade. Our team of highly trained experts and developers possess vast professional experiences. We have earned a reputation as the leading mobile development company in the market with our extreme dedication and optimum rate of customer satisfaction. We develop custom solutions that fit like a glove with your business needs. Discuss your idea with our experts over a free 30-min consultation call. Fill the form now!
