Kia launches EV charging rewards programme with &Charge
The move aims to reduce the total cost of ownership for owners of electric vehicles
Kia has announced a partnership with EV charging platform &Charge, that will allow customers to collect EV charging credits when shopping at hundreds of UK retailers.
Kia says the aim of the scheme is to help reduce the total cost of ownership for owners of electric vehicles, which the company sees as impeding the growth of e-mobility.
Done via the &Charge app, credits can be collected from a variety of outlets, including popular DIY and home stores, clothing and fashion retailers, online travel sites and certain airlines.
Once collected, credits can later be redeemed in Kia’s My Charge app, which can then be used to pay for public charging sessions.
Users spending money through &Charge build up ‘&Charge Kilometres’, with each kilometre equivalent to an average of £0.07 in Kia Charge credits (depending on retailer).
In addition to improving the affordability of EV ownership through its shopping bonus program, &Charge offers the chance to help make the charging experience more effective and reliable through regular feedback on electric vehicle charging stations.
It does this by allowing users to provide real-time input on individual charging station performance, and post accompanying pictures of chargers via the &Charge app.
&Charge says users can typically 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.
Sjoerd Knipping, Vice President Marketing & Product for Kia Europe, said, “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. Collaboration with the &Charge service platform can only strengthen our ability to meet this objective.”
The partnership comes ahead of Kia’s plans to offer a line-up of 14 fully electric models by 2027, in line with its ‘Plan S’ strategy.
This year will see the production-ready debut of its EV9 SUV, which the South Korean brand praises as ushering in a new era of “sophisticated, high-tech, sustainable mobility for Kia”.
&Charge is now live in the UK and the app can be downloaded via and-charge.com, the App Store, or the Google Play Store.