Ranking of the best mobile applications
The main advantage of mobile applications is going to be the ability to plan your itinerary in advance. This represents significant added value compared with the on-board systems offered by manufacturers, which have a number of limitations, not least of which is the inability to modify or customise the parameters according to the model of vehicle and the route planned.
For example, if the journey involves several stages, these will not be taken into account in detail by the system, which can be a handicap when it comes to planning the recharging of your electric car on the road.
This is where applications come into their own, allowing you to make the most of your trip in terms of organisation and prepare your journey in advance, with complete peace of mind.
What's more, given the still uneven and inadequate distribution of charging stations in France, the route planners developed by the applications are still very useful.
According to Avere France, on 31 October 2022 there were 77,318 recharging points open to the public in Francea number still far from the French government's target of installing 100,000 charging points across the country by the end of 2021.
Manufacturer applications
The mobile applications offered by vehicle manufacturers are equipped with a wide range of functions enabling you to manage your electric car's equipment. What's more, they also contain all the information relating to the use of your vehicle, which can be very useful if you have any questions relating specifically to the model of your electric car.
Read also : Renault integrates Waze into its multimedia system
The Tesla application
The American carmaker is offering a comprehensive mobile application for owners of a Tesla electric. This user-friendly application offers a host of functions enabling you to control your electric car remotely.
In particular, it allows you to geolocate your Tesla and offers an optimal system for locating and managing the charging of your vehicle. While your Tesla is charging, you can check the level and power of the recharge as well as remaining charge timein real time.
What's more, you can also limit the charge, so that it doesn't exceed 80%, for example. Once your electric vehicle is recharged, you'll receive a notification directly via the application telling you that you can get back on the road.
The Tesla app also allows you to manage the vehicle's various equipment remotelyThese include opening and closing the vehicle and its boot, and activating the air conditioning and heated seats. In winter, for example, you can activate your Tesla's heating remotely before you set off, so that you're in a vehicle that's already heated to the right temperature.
Tesla has also recently updated its application to include "Charge Stats", a new tab where you can find out how much charge you're using. extensive information on energy consumption of its Tesla vehicle, the costs associated with recharging and the savings made compared to a conventional car. thermal vehicle.
You can also schedule the maintenance or repair of your Tesla vehicle directly via the application, a very practical and time-saving feature.
Finally, the application also features the Sentry modeSentinel Mode, which, as soon as the mode is activated on the vehicle, allows you to receive a notification in the event of an incident. In fact, Sentinel Mode, linked directly to the vehicle's alarm system, can detect suspicious activity around your Tesla, reinforcing the safety of your vehicle in your absence, if you are not near it.
A Better Route Planner
Is it important for you to be well organised in advance of your holiday trips? Here's a mobile application that's sure to help.
Of Swedish origin, A Better Route Planner (ABRP) is a free planning application that allows you to prepare your travel itinerary in an electric car with complete peace of mind.
To obtain accurate forecasts, you can enter various parameters such as road conditions, weather forecasts and average speed on the road. It is also possible to access to real-time traffic information.
In addition, for certain models of electric vehicles, you can also directly consult the information relating to the energy level of the vehicle. battery and energy consumption.
What's more, if you have an OBD2 box, connecting it to the application will give you real-time access to your electric car's data for greater accuracy.
Finally, the application also allows you to select preferred recharging networks. This is particularly useful for drivers of a Tesla electric wishing to use the Tesla Supercharger network exclusively.
Read also : Everything you need to know about Tesla's charging station
Thanks to the number of features it offers, A Better Route Planner is a must-have application for all electric motorists.
You would like toto electric?
Beev offers multi-brand 100% electric vehicles at the best prices, as well as recharging solutions.
ChargeMap is a free application that offers both a route planner adapted to the model of your electric vehicle. ChargeMap is also considered to be the benchmark in terms of location of recharging pointswith a comprehensive database that is updated on an ongoing basis. recharging points available around you.
The content of the ChargeMap application is fed by the community. In fact, the charging points are listed by the users themselves, along with the characteristics of each one. What's more, you can also leave photos and comments and consult them to check that the charging point you're planning to visit is working properly, with a real-time display to check availability.
ChargeMap also lets you configure your journey in real time. You can specify, for example, whether you want to take a break on the road, indicating the length of the break and the desired battery level before resuming the journey.
In conclusion, ChargeMap remains a fairly limited application in terms of the options and customisations on offer. However, its strong point is its ergonomics and its ease of useThis makes it accessible to all users, without the need for any expertise in electric cars.
Read also : How do you prepare for skiing in an electric car?
PlugShare
The application PlugShare has a desktop and mobile interface, allowing you to plan your journey and to geolocate available recharging points anywhere in the world, from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
On PlugShare, you have access to the main information about the charging points that can be located on the application, such as the proposed charging network or the type of socket supported by the terminal.
You can also consult access conditions of each recharging point, allowing you, for example, to see which recharging points require a specific badge or whether they are accessible to the public or not.
Some establishments have decided to open their recharging points exclusively to their customers. This is particularly true of hotels, which can choose to limit the use of their terminals to guests staying at their establishment.
Read also : Installing a recharging point in a hotel
Some recharging stations also have reviews and photos, added beforehand by users, to check their reliability.
NextCharge
NextCharge is another mobile application that will allow you to locate the various recharging points in the areawhether public or private.
Although it is still underdeveloped in France, it could be of great use to you if you decide to travelling in EuropeYou can also use your electric vehicle to travel to neighbouring countries. What's more, it has its own recharging networkavailable only abroad, for the time being.
What's more, NextCharge allows you to make a route simulation taking into account various parameters such as average speed, battery capacity and the number of passengers on board. This simulation will enable you toobtain an estimate of theautonomy of your electric vehicle throughout your journey.
ChargePrice
Let's move on to the application ChargePrice. It's an application that offers a recharge point comparator to find the charging point at the best price.
Unlike other applications, which focus more on the location of charging stations, ChargePrice will concentrate on the different amounts offered by the charging points.
The application will then compare the various existing tariffs to offer you the best top-up deals. the most advantageous available nearby.
The aim is to help you save on your top-ups which can represent a sizeable budget, particularly on long holiday journeys.
What's more, ChargePrice is a collaborative application. In fact, its content is fed and updated using resources shared by the community, so as to offer an ever more complete and optimal application.
MIIO
Designed by a Portuguese start-up, MIIO is a mobile application offering a route simulator as well as a search engine to find it.Locate nearby recharging points.
However, unlike other applications of the same type, MIIO also offers a simplified and automated payment solutionwhich allows you to pay the top-up amount directly via the application.
What's more, MIIO lets you know the final price of the top-up in advanceThis is a very good way of anticipating all the costs involved in recharging your vehicle, particularly when you're on holiday, and of choosing the most economical recharging solution.
And if you're a professional, MIIO also offers a solution for monitoring and supervising recharging activities, for businesses.
Antelope
Antelope is an application for obtaining a consumption prediction of your electric car on a given journey so that you can anticipate and optimise your charging needs when travelling.
This makes it possible to determine energy consumption in advance of its vehicle, taking into account a number of parameters such as :
- driving style (eco mode, sport mode, average speed, etc.)
- the weight on board (number of passengers, weight of luggage, etc.)
- the state of the battery
- traffic
- weather conditions
- the gradient of the route
Thanks to its artificial intelligence, the application can provide increasingly accurate information about your electric vehicle's energy consumption as you use it.
Windy
As a little bonus, we're also offering you the Windy.
This application will enable you to follow the wind directionwhich also has an impact on the energy consumption of your electric car.
Windy gives you real-time access to wind forecastsYou can then calculate the range you need to cover a given distance with your vehicle.
Windy will be a great ally when it comes to planning your next electric car journey.
Read also : 8 tips to reduce the energy consumption of your electric car
Summary table of application prices
| Applications | Prix de l'application |
|---|---|
Tesla App | Free |
A Better Route Planner | Free or Subscription of €4.99 per month or €49.99 per year (for access to all features) |
ChargeMap | Free |
PlugShare | Free or €0.99 for the ad-free version |
NextCharge | Free |
ChargePrice | Free |
MIIO | Free |
Antelope | Free |
Windy | Free or Premium annual subscription at €18.99 / year (for even more detailed forecasts) |
And that's it, the top mobile apps for electric cars is coming to an end.
We hope that this ranking has enabled you to discover applications that will help make your daily life as an electric vehicle driver easier.
What's more, it's highly likely that other applications will emerge in the near future, as electric mobility develops.
