Electric vehicle charging map firm Zapmap expands to cover continental Europe
Long-range EVs and ultra-fast charging helpful, too
Electric car charging point mapping company Zapmap has expanded into mainland Europe, helping EV drivers find charging points on the continent.
The map, which is already used by the drivers of around a million battery-electric vehicles in the UK (according to Zapmap data) to find charging points in the UK and Ireland, will now also show some charging points in France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Zapmap has also confirmed plans to add EV chargers in other European countries, including Spain, Switzerland, Austria and Italy.
For the time being, however, charging points in just the five European countries are available, plus the existing points mapped in the UK and Ireland.
Rapid chargers only
At this point, the map is only listing “selected” charging points outside the British Isles, targeting those with a power rating of 60kW or more. However, the system now maps more than 15,000 European charging locations, and Zapmap says it offers customers information on charging points with a “variety” of payment options.
Later in 2024, the app will expand further to display more types of charge point — and more charging networks — on the continent, as well as expanding the number of continental countries it maps.
And the system will allow drivers to share their experiences of using different charging points on the European mainland with other electric vehicle (EV) drivers.
“I’m delighted to announce that we’ve taken our first step into mainland Europe,” said Zapmap’s commercial director Alex Earl. “Mapping charge points on the continent has been a frequent request from Zapmap users over the past few years, and I’m very pleased to say that we’ve made it happen.
“As ever, our mission is to make the EV charging experience simple, wherever you go. That’s why, to ensure we offer the same great service abroad as we do in the UK, our aim at this initial stage is to help UK drivers on the continent find charge points en-route when road tripping in an electric car.”
Almost a fifth of Zapmap users travel abroad
Meanwhile the company’s co-founder and COO, Melanie Shufflebotham, said almost a fifth of the app’s users (18 per cent) travel abroad, often to France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
“In the past year we’ve seen a 28 per cent increase in people travelling to mainland Europe in their EV,” she said. “I’m very pleased we’re now able to serve UK drivers in these five countries, and that we can open up mainland Europe to a new generation of electric car drivers.”
Zapmap was founded in 2014, offering electric car drivers a smartphone and PC application that could help them plan their journeys. The app also allows drivers to pay for charging and share updates with other drivers.
More than 70,000 registered users
To date, the app has attracted more than 70,000 registered users, and the company estimates that it maps more than 95 per cent of the UK’s public charging points. Of those, more than 70 per cent show live availability data.
Eventually, the company plans to expand the app to cover some of the most commonly visited countries on the continent, making road trips easier for electric car drivers, who would only need one app to plan and execute their journeys.
The 15,000-charger expansion into France, Germany and the low countries has already seen the number of charging locations on the app increase by 50 per cent. However, it’s thought the expansion will take some time before it is at the same level as that of the UK.
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