Waze, the navigation app owned by Google, has announced the addition of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to its route planning tools.
With the update, which Google says is available now but will roll globally out over the next few weeks, EV owners can input their vehicle information and preferred plug type into the app. The app will then locate the nearest charging stations along your route, which Waze says will make it “easier to charge your car and get help finding where or when you’ll come across the next station.
Tesla is also one of the available plug options in the settings, along with J1772, Type 2 – Mennekes, CCS1, CCS2, CHAdeMo, and GB/T.
The company didn’t specify which charging networks will be accessible through the app, but a screenshot shared in a blog post shows at least Evgo, Greenlots, Blink, and Chargepoint will be included.
Waze has previously tested adding EV chargers to its tool in partnership with Volkswagen in 2021, but the trial was short lived and the charging stations vanished after a few weeks. The same thing won’t happen this time around and the feature has now been added to the app permanently, according to a company spokesperson.
Waze claims that its EV data is reviewed and updated in real-time, making it easier for EV drivers to find reliable and up-to-date charging information. Other navigation apps, including Google Maps, have also been upgrading their EV charging search features, but Waze’s crowdsourced map editing function could give it an edge.
