Pros and cons of using apps that help plan a long electric car trip

BERLIN: Enter your destination, plan stops for charging, and drive off. In theory, it should be easy to go for a long trip in an electric car, especially if you use an app to help plan your route.

"This can work very well in practice, especially if the trip follows main traffic routes such as highways," says automotive and mobility reporter Luca Leicht.

However, it’s not always so simple. Depending on the system used to plan a route, information about charging points may be missing from the navigation system or range data may be inaccurate because the car’s power consumption is incorrectly calculated.

According to Leicht, this is especially true when planning with mobility apps, such as those provided by charging providers.

"While these apps give the user a good overview of where the provider's charging points are located, they quickly reach their limits when it comes to route guidance and accuracy," he says.

Apps don’t know everything

Alternative routes, for example, are often not taken into account, nor is the current traffic situation. In addition, most mobility apps don’t know the actual power consumption of the car.

"This is currently a major disadvantage of navigation apps for electric drivers," says automotive industry reporter Hannes Rügheimer.

"So far, there are no uniform standards for accessing the necessary vehicle data such as battery level and other parameters."

He says it’s hoped that eventually vehicle manufacturers will make the relevant data available, for example via future versions of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Until that happens, users can in most cases store some of their vehicle data in the apps, which allows route planning to have some idea of the vehicle’s power consumption.

"For example, you can enter the charge level when you leave, the maximum or typical speed at which you drive, and other values," explains Rügheimer. The app then tries to calculate the power consumption based on this.

The selection of data that can be stored varies greatly from app to app. While some only allow you to select the vehicle type, apps such as A Better Routeplanner, ElectricRoutes or EV Navigation take into account a wide variety of settings and data, including road conditions, weather data and vehicle weight.

Onboard systems are better

But app calculations have limitations. "An integrated navigation system usually has an advantage here," according to Leicht.

This is because the system usually knows the state of charge (SoC) very precisely and in some cases can also take into account influences such as the weather, temperature and topography.

As well, none of the apps have information on all of the available charging stations. That applies to integrated navigation systems too. It therefore makes sense to have a two-track approach.

"If you use the onboard navigation system, you should have an app as a backup, or vice versa," advises mobility reporter Jörg Maltzan.

However, even having a large selection of charging points on the route is no guarantee that you will actually be able to fill up with electricity when you get to one of them.

For that reason it's definitely a good idea to plan your route before you start driving, Rügheimer advises.

To avoid running out of power, a minimum charging level should also be entered in the respective navigation system.

"In many onboard systems and nav apps, it can be stored that the SoC must never fall below 20%," Leicht explains. This is a good level for electric car newcomers.

Experienced e-car drivers, on the other hand, can reduce the minimum SoC to between 5 and 10%. "This still leaves enough reserve in case a charging station is occupied or consumption is higher than planned," Leicht says.