22 September 2023 – London, UK / Florida, USA. — Parkopedia and Blink Charging, are working together to provide EV drivers with an improved charging experience. Parkopedia users are now able to access nearly 12,000 Blink public chargers across more than 4,000 US locations, directly through their vehicle head units. They provide EV drivers with the greatest possible convenience and charger visibility.
This agreement further increases Parkopedia’s presence in the North American market. The company is expanding its ‘Park and Charge’ EV service for its various automaker customers. Additionally, the service gains ‘live’ availability data from Blink’s network of chargers. This enables the company to provide drivers with increasingly accurate parking and charging availability predictions. This is offered as part of a more complete EV charging experience.
This addresses US EV drivers’ most significant concerns, cited in the 2023 Global Driver Survey, , including nearly 60% being concerned about finding charging away from home. More than 1 in 3 drivers struggle to find EV public charging locations “all the time” or “very frequently.” These figures are higher than any other featured country in the survey. Furthermore, 53% of US EV drivers shared they have been unable to charge when needed previously. This was due to chargers being occupied by other vehicles on arrival.
More concerningly, 73% of American EV drivers have run out of charge before – again more than drivers in any other country surveyed. As a result, 92% of US drivers would be more likely to purchase an EV. This is if it had ‘Park and Charge’ functionality to simplify the process of finding suitable charging. These survey figures highlight the value of providing seamless charging experiences to American drivers. This helps more drivers transition to EVs and reduces charging anxiety. It prevents them from running out of charge or failing to locate suitable chargers while traveling.
Parkopedia regularly validates parking and charging data to ensure accuracy is as high as possible. ‘Dynamic data’ helps provide drivers with valuable parking and charging predictions for when spaces or charging stations are most likely available. Parkopedia and Blink are exploring the scope of the collaboration to provide even more solutions in the future. Their ambition is to further streamline the process of parking and charging for EV drivers.
Commenting on the new agreement, Adam Woolway, Head of EV at Parkopedia, said: “We recognize that parking and charging are increasingly interlinked. We are continuing to simplify the charging experience for EV drivers, as seen in this new collaboration with Blink. Also recognise the significant challenges facing US EV drivers in particular, highlighted in our 2023 Global Driver Survey with the US topping the table for the majority of charging-related issues – from failing to find chargers to running out of charge. We strongly believe that our connected car services and new integration with Blink will further support drivers. It help prevent them from experiencing such issues in the future.”
“Our collaboration with Parkopedia creates a streamlined experience for EV drivers to conveniently access Blink charging stations across North America,” said Mike Battaglia, Chief Revenue Officer for Blink Charging. “The combination of Parkopedia’s excellence in serving drivers through convenience in parking accessibility. Blink’s extensive range of public EV chargers gives EV drivers confidence in finding a reliable charging experience wherever they are. This initiative builds upon our strategy. It aims to make it easy for EV drivers to locate Blink chargers through a variety of platforms.”
