Ahead of several planned premium electric vehicle launches for Jeep, Ram and Dodge this year and next, parent company Stellantis announced Tuesday that it will transform the charging and energy management experience into a business. unique—a business will include a sophisticated roadmap- application planning and toolkit.
Free2Move Charge will be managed as part of Stellantis’ new Energy & Charge business unit at the company and will include hardware, software, and related services.
That includes support for a line of home-mounted charging hardware from Stellantis, and it’s made clear that Free2Move Charge will include support for two-way charging in the near future, with home hardware to take advantage of it — though solar isn’t part of the plan yet.
The unit will include Home, Business and Go pillars, where the pillar refers to “seamless access to the largest network of managed public charging points possible through partners in North America.” America, Europe and other regions will be announced soon.”
Dealer charging center
What makes the most immediate sense for customers is that it will bring the same harmonious interface to find charging across platforms, in smartphone and tablet apps, via website, on- charge center at the dealer or in the vehicle. Over the next year, a lot of that functionality will also be added to separate branded apps, but there will still be a separate Charge app with all the functionality.
Stellantis says it will integrate the app into its new vehicles starting in 2024 — including the STLA SmartCockpit platform that will provide smart route information and more.
Aggregate public fee points, do not generate them
The app will act as a aggregator to find charge, pay for it and navigate to it. Owners will be able to sort by different priorities, including costs. Plug and Charge support, reservations and loyalty programs are rolling out, and the app will have smarts to understand when you’re taking a ride on another EV.
While some automakers have purchased routing apps that focus on reducing the anxiety of charging on the road—The most recent Rivian—Stellantis says it’s running efficiently on its own, and it’s running its own API behind the app and route planner as a business.
“This is not going to be a disconnected experience,” said Ricardo Stamatti, senior vice president of Charge & Energy business at Stellantis. Simply put, the app will always know the vehicle’s charging status and manage the best options for charging available on the go.
In terms of aggregate infrastructure coverage, the company expects the network to include nearly 600,000 charging connectors by the end of 2024.
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No commitment to Tesla NACS—official
Ford announced in May that it was planning using Tesla’s NACS charging port for future EVs, and GM followed suit earlier this month with similar plans to get Supercharger access in 2024. Reading between the lines, the number likely includes access to a charger that provides Tesla’s NACS interface, as well as the familiar J1772 level 2 AC and CCS charger. But in a briefing ahead of Tuesday’s announcement, the company said it was continuing to evaluate NACS and would have more information related to that to share soon.
Stellantis also omitted to answer whether its new approach would signal a future commitment to installing public fast chargers or funding EV charging infrastructure on a larger scale. Earlier this year at CES, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares commented that Stellantis is not an infrastructure provider. At the time, the company had no plans to build a fast-charging network in the US, although it did intend to sell chargers.
jeep scout
Ram, Jeep, Dodge EV Coming Soon
The only all-electric vehicle that Stellantis plans to offer in North America this calendar year is the Maserati Folgore. But next year, it plans to begin rolling out the new first generation of electric vehicles in North America—including a Ram . electric pickup And Dodge electric car and then the Wrangler-inspired model Jeep Recon EV. Fiat is also yield 500e EV.
But Stellantis has a lot of plug-in hybrids to support at the moment. It has the best-selling PHEV on the market—the 4xe driver—for a few years, and with the Chrysler Pacifica and the Jeep Cherokee 4xe.
Up until now, home chargers for 4xe products were essentially considered Mopar accessories, but with the Free2Move Charge these chargers will be streamlined as bundles offered at sale point.
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Not every charger is included—and reliability is why
Stellantis collectively calls Free2Move Charge “a 360-degree ecosystem that will provide seamless charging and power management to address all of the needs of electric vehicle customers, anywhere and on the go. any way.”
The overarching, cloud-based approach combined with an aggregation-focused strategy closely parallels what GM has announced in recent years with Charger Ultium 360 approach and by Ford with FordPass charging app.
What makes Stellantis a little different is that it’s the first OEM to make extensive announcements about its charge-aggregation and access plan since the federal government announced it last month. to address the reliability of the EV . charger in the construction of US infrastructure—forming a consortium to test and track new data fields from toll operators.
Ford has taken a proactive approach, by sending “fee angel” out to identify faulty infrastructure and follow up with responsible parties.
Stamatti says that the company won’t include every potential charger in this compilation. He showed Green Car Reports how some toll point operators have uptime below 70% and suggested which data they would use to choose from.
“It’s almost like you’re aggregating frustration for the user,” explains Stamatti. “And make no mistake when they’re angry, they’re not angry at the CPO, they’re angry at the OEMs, like, ‘Why can’t my car charge with this charger? What’s happening?”
