Smart teams up with DCS and ABB for charging the #1 EV
Mercedes and Geely’s small car brand Smart has turned to ABB and DCS to improve its EV charging offers before launching its first electric car #1. ABB e-mobility gives Smart access to “a one-stop-shop” for chargers and accessories. DCS will oversee app integration, and there’s news about Smart’s own charger.
First to the ABB partnership on which the brand’s wall box relies. The one-stop-shop above will be accessible to Smart drivers in all European markets, says Smart. The cooperation also includes installation, which will make the process “very straightforward,” so the company.
The Smart wall box includes Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity as standard. RFID authentication and integration into the Smart app controls the charging process.
This is where DCS comes in. BMW founded the company with a view to third party services from the start. They now run in the background of over 290,000 charging points in Europe; 24,000 of these are DC points.
Their service is now also integrated into the Smart app. Drivers may access information on location, available connector type and general availability. Additionally, the DCS charging Card comes for free with every Smart.
Smart says the new products and services will be available online in their shop. Drivers will also be able to book the wall box through the system as an optional extra with professional local installation partners. Prices have yet to be set.
The new partnerships precede the premiere of the smart #1 in Berlin this April. Concept #1 was shown at last year’s IAA, and in February Smart settled on the new labelling for its upcoming electric vehicles.
For the brand, this will conclude a new beginning. At the end of 2019, Mercedes-Benz and the Chinese carmaker Geely founded the joint venture Smart Automobile Co, based in Hangzhou Bay in the coastal city of Ningbo to (re-)start a new era. Mercedes brought in the brand and will design the cars. Geely provides the technology and takes on production.
0 Comments