Jaguar Land Rover recently announced a new partnership with charging experts Plugsurfing
With the intention of making topping up plug-in and fully electric vehicles from the firm easier and less complicated. But what does this new agreement mean and how can it help drivers who need to recharge their vehicles? Let’s take a look.
What is Plugsurfing?
Plugsurfing is a company that has one of the largest networks of electric car charging stations across Europe. It currently has over 300,000 points across the UK and Europe, with more than one million drivers using the firm’s app to find, connect to and pay for charging.
So does Plugsurfing work with other operators?
That’s right. Plugsurfing has a number of ‘partners’ that it works with to help actually deliver the charging to customers. In fact, the service includes over 700 separate charge point operators, including popular options such as Osprey and Ionity.
Plugsurfing then gives access to the various operators via one service, ensuring that you don’t need loads of different apps or accounts to get your vehicle charged up.
Are there different tariffs for charging?
Yes. Jaguar Land Rover customers will be offered three tariffs, in fact. Pay-As-You-Go brings no monthly charge, with drivers paying for each charge as and when you need it. Gold, meanwhile, brings a monthly fee of £4.26 but fixes the cost of charging depending on the unit. Platinum - which costs £8.50 a month - reduces that fixed charging cost, so it’s a good option if you’re frequently topping up via public chargers.
How will JLR vehicle owners access it?
This is the easy bit. Once you’ve applied for the service, buyers will be sent an RFID charging card. This can be swiped on the charging stations themselves to give quick and easy access. It’s also handy for older devices which may not accept contactless charging.
Plus, drivers will be able to activate a charge via the Jaguar or Land Rover charging app, so there’s an option if you’ve left your charging card at home, for instance.
Which JLR vehicles can I currently charge?
Jaguar Land Rover has been expanding its range of plug-in hybrid vehicles recently. Of course, at the top of the pile is Jaguar’s fully electric I-Pace, so drivers of this vehicle will no doubt benefit from more accessible charging options.
However, there is also a number of plug-in hybrid vehicles, such as the Discovery Sport and Defender, that could also be helped by a charge mid-journey.