PlugShare showing Ford electrified car owners where the charging stations are

Ford is teaming up with PlugShare to improve data provided about electric car charging station locations and attractions nearby each station.

Ford and PlugShare is teaming up to provide drivers of Ford-manufactured plug-in cars with electric car charging station locations. PlugShare is a leading aggregator of charging station location information. The data is being integrated into the MyFord Mobile smartphone application.

PlugShare's crowdsourced database of charging station locations is a superset of all the charging station networks. It includes listings of both ChargePoint and Blink stations as well as the charging stations not associated with either of the two big networks. The information includes pictures, reviews and check-ins from people who have used each station.

“When we launched the MyFord Mobile app and portal for the Focus Electric last year, it was the most advanced remote management app of its kind in the industry,” said Bill Frykman, business and product development manager. “We’re now expanding availability of the system to drivers of our new plug-in hybrids and offering some unique features specifically tailored to these long-range vehicles.”

The "station finder" component of the MyFord Mobile application blends point-of-interest search with charging station information from PlugShare, letting drivers take advantage of charging wherever their destination might be. Or choosing a destination that's near a charging station. Users can search for locations near their chosen charging station, and MyFord Mobile will list that information along with the nearest available charging station for each entry.

“Access to public charging allows our C-MAX Energi and Fusion Energi customers to drive more electric miles – helping improve our environmental footprint and improve energy security,” said Mike Tinskey, director, Vehicle Electrification and Infrastructure. “We’ve seen impressive growth in the number of installed public charge stations – growing from fewer than 3,000 units in 2010 to more than 11,500 installed units in the U.S. today.

Additionally the trip and charge log portion of the MyFord Mobile application has been updated to provide drivers with information about how efficiently they are using their plug-in hybrid vehicle in both electric and hybrid mode.

“It is a little known fact that the majority of charging stations are currently free to use. By giving drivers a clear view of the reality of charging, PlugShare and Ford are showing more and more drivers that now is a great time to start driving on electricity,” said Forrest North, CEO of Xatori, maker of PlugShare. “With our real-time, crowd-sourcing features that include photos, reviews and check-ins, PlugShare has quickly become one of the largest and most popular charging station locators in North America. We are thrilled an established industry leader such as Ford has chosen PlugShare for MyFord Mobile.”

MyFord Mobile is available in the Apple iOS App Store for iPhones and the Google Play Store for Android phones.