Apple Maps gets electric vehicle routing to find EV chargers

Apple  has added a routing feature to Maps that’s designed for electric vehicle owners. The EV routing feature, which will be available in the newest version of iOS, is one of several improvements that Apple is making to Maps.

Apple unveiled the new feature Monday at a virtual version of WWDC 2020, the company’s annual developer conference.

The EV routing aims to eliminate range anxiety — the fear of running out of charge — by showing charging stations compatible to a user’s electric vehicle along their route. Maps on iOS 14 will track the user’s current charge and factorin things like elevation and whether to automatically add charging stops alongtheir route, Apple senior director Stacey Lysik said Monday during WWDC 2020.

Apple said it’s working with a number of manufacturers to support easy routing intheir vehicles, including BMW and Ford. Lysik said more manufacturers will be added in the near future. Ford confirmed it is working with Apple and didn’t provide any further details. 

Apple Maps is also adding a feature that lets users view congestion and green zones and pick alternate routes that avoid these areas, if needed. Drivers in China will also be able to securely store their license plate number on theiriPhone, so they can more easily keep track of which days they can entercongested city centers, based on that number. Per policy in China, drivers can only enter into congestion zones on particular days.