Here & DCS launch strategic charging collaboration
Here Technologies has entered into a strategic collaboration with Digital Charging Solutions GmbH (DCS). The collaboration between Here and DCS is designed to enable car manufacturers to offer customers a “seamless and holistic user experience for their electric vehicles”.
DCS will contribute its expertise in access to charging stations, authentication of charging processes, booking and the provision of corresponding payment and billing services. Here offers digital maps, information on so-called points of interest and routing technologies. In other words, Here’s maps receive the information about charging points that DCS has.
More than 280,000 charging points in Europe and Japan are connected to the DCS database. The DCS software can also be used to activate the charging points and process payments. DCS was founded by BMW, but Daimler and BP now each have a one-third stake in the company. DCS is known to be behind numerous OEM charging services, not only those of shareholders BMW and Mercedes, but also Charge MyHyundai and the Audi e-tron Charging Service.
Given the shareholders, the cooperation with Here is hardly surprising: the map service was once developed by Nokia, but was taken over by BMW, Mercedes and Audi in equal parts in 2015. In the meantime, other companies have joined Here, reducing the stakes of the three carmakers. New investors include Intel, Bosch and Continental.
Here’s eMobility-specific functions include ‘EV Routing’ and ‘EV Charge Points’. The DCS connection can help with both functions – finding charging points with the most precise and up-to-date information possible and route guidance with automatically planned charging stops. DCS services are to be integrated into the Here SDK. An integration into the navigation app ‘Here WeGo’ for private individuals is also currently being examined.
DCS CEO Jörg Reimann emphasises how deeply its own charging solutions are integrated into the vehicles of OEM customers. “Using the enriched data, we can help drivers find a reliable charging station along the route which can be used with their charging service,” Reimann says. “Drivers will be able to search for the most reliable, the nearest or the most affordable charging station on their way.”
“We expect this partnership to make our EV Routing even more personalized,” said Jørgen Behrens, chief product officer of Here Technologies. “It is another important step on our journey to make EV driving a seamless end-to-end experience.”
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