Kia launches EV charging rewards programme with ‘&Charge’
Kia has launched a new partnership with &Charge, an EV charging platform that combines smart user engagement with value-added services.
‘&Charge’, accessed via app, allows users to collect EV charging credits when shopping at hundreds of UK retailers. Credits can be redeemed via the Kia Charge* app to pay for public charging sessions, reducing the total cost of ownership. Customers can also earn credits by providing information and feedback on public charging stations.
The service is now live in the UK, and customers can download the app via and-charge.com, the App Store, or the Google Play Store.
One of the first manufacturers to offer rewards through the ‘&Charge’ platform, Kia’s new partnership will support its ambition to remove obstacles impeding the growth of e-mobility, including cutting the cost of all-electric driving for customers.
“As we expand our EV offering, it is important that the charging network offers the same accessibility and quality of experience that our customers have come to expect from our state-of-the-art EVs,” said Sjoerd Knipping, Vice President Marketing & Product for Kia Europe. “Collaboration with the ‘&Charge’ service platform can only strengthen our ability to meet this objective.”
In the UK, customers can access more than 300 retailers via the ‘&Charge’ service platform, including popular DIY and home stores, clothing and fashion retailers, online travel sites and certain airlines, attractions and days out, food retailers and delivery services, and dozens of others. Users spending money through ‘&Charge’ build up ‘&Charge Kilometres’, with each kilometre equivalent to an average of £0.071 in Kia Charge credits (depending on retailer).
For example, if a brand offers 1 ‘&Charge Kilometre’ for every £3 spent, users spending £99 with this retailer would earn around £2.34 in Kia Charge credits to contribute towards their next public charge.
In addition to improving the affordability of EV ownership through its shopping bonus programme, ‘&Charge’ offers the chance to make the charging experience more effective and reliable in Europe through regular feedback and the gathering of information on electric vehicle charging stations. ‘&Charge’ app users can provide real-time input on individual charging station performance, and post accompanying pictures of chargers. Typically, users can earn between one and five ‘&Charge Kilometres’ for each picture they contribute. This crowd-sourced data is then used to help charge point operators verify issues and quickly improve the reliability and user experience at their public charging stations.
“By providing feedback, Kia customers will not only earn ‘&Charge Kilometres’ to use on public charging via the Kia Charge app but also help to ensure that the public charging infrastructure is operating at the level required to ensure progression of the e-mobility movement,” added Knipping.
