Electric vehicle (EV) drivers need to know if they have enough battery charge to reach their destination, especially on long trips. EV manufacturers are updating their navigation systems to provide range and charging information along with directions. However, smartphone apps like Apple Maps, Google Maps, and Waze offer more advanced and regularly updated mapping features. While it’s possible to manually calculate charging stops and plan your own route, it takes time and can be inconvenient and uncertain for most drivers.
Apple Maps EV Routing integrates real-time range and battery percentage data from your car into its directions. It considers factors like elevation changes to suggest charging stops along your route, but it requires Apple CarPlay. If your battery charge gets too low, Apple Maps will guide you to the nearest charging station. The feature was introduced at WWDC 2020 and initially rolled out to the Ford Mustang Mach-E. Now, it’s also available for the Porsche Taycan. To enable this function, you need to download the My Porsche app and follow a few steps on both the app and the Apple Maps app.
Porsche offers a built-in Porsche Charging Planner in every Taycan, which suggests charging stops based on battery estimates, traffic, and speed. With the addition of Apple Maps EV Routing, Taycan owners have more options without leaving Apple CarPlay for navigation directions with charging stops. Porsche Digital’s managing director, Steffen Haug, stated that they listened to customer feedback and wanted to provide flexibility. The integration with Apple Maps, a familiar product to customers, gives them more confidence and options when using their Taycan for daily activities and longer road trips.
There is a significant limitation with Apple Maps EV Routing—it will only be available to customers in the US. This limitation is likely due to Apple Maps lacking sufficient charging station data outside the US. Apple Maps EV Routing is exclusive to Apple Maps, meaning real-time vehicle data won’t be available on Google Maps or Waze. Google Maps, even on Android Auto, doesn’t offer this type of route planning. However, Google provides native Google Maps navigation through the Android Automotive infotainment platform, available on select vehicles with Google services built-in. Currently, in Malaysia, only the Volvo XC40 and C40 EVs offer this feature.
