By Paul Lienert
(Reuters) – E-commerce giant Amazon hopes a new partnership with EVgo, powered by its Alexa voice assistant, will help smooth the electric vehicle charging experience for owners.
Announced on Thursday at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the new service aims to streamline the process of locating, initiating and paying for a charging session — still pain points for many EV drivers — according to EVgo, one of the nation’s largest EV charging network operators.
When it launches later in 2023, the Alexa-assisted EV charging service will connect drivers to more than 150,000 U.S. public charging stations through EVgo’s PlugShare map.
The service will let drivers find charging stations operated by EVgo and other operators. If an EVgo station is selected, drivers then schedule and initiate a charging session and complete payment through the Alexa mobile app.
EVgo said customers eventually will be able to view real-time charger availability and view session and billing information.
Amazon said the service will be available on vehicles equipped with Alexa and accessories like its Echo Auto.
(Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit; Editing by Sandra Maler)
