Skip to main content

Thanks to Here and Hubject, you'll always know where to charge your car

here hubject charge 2016 hyundai sonata plug in hybrid charging station wide detroit auto show
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Electric cars are great and all, but if you find yourself running out of power in the middle of a barren wasteland where charging stations are scarce, you may regret your decision to go green. But thankfully, a new partnership between Here and Hubject hopes to prevent electric car owners from being left high and dry.

Electric vehicle drivers who utilize Here-powered maps, navigation systems, or apps, will “be able to access real time information of all charging stations in the intercharge network.” By bringing Hubject’s information on charging station with the Here mapping system, the European firms say it will be easier than ever for customers to not only locate charging stations, but also determine if there’s a plug available for them to use.

According to a joint press release, the partnership includes “information on charging stations across all providers, e.g. address, connector type and power, along with dynamic data on occupancy  and the availability of parking spaces in front of charging stations.” And given the ubiquity of Here (four out of every five vehicles with in-dash navigation systems in North America and Western Europe use the platform), this relationship could be a game changer for those with electric cars.

“We are delighted to welcome HERE as the market leader in mapping and navigation services to our network of partners. Both companies are committed to digitalizing mobility, and this is an ideal basis for further innovation” said Thomas Daiber, CEO of Hubject GmbH, in a statement.

Michael Bültmann, Managing Director of HERE Deutschland GmbH, echoed these sentiments, noting, “Maps and location are all about providing relevant information at the right place, time and context. By integrating information from Hubject about charging stations into our map, drivers of electric vehicles can plan their routes with more ease and confidence, being reassured to know about all charge facilities within their range.”

Editors' Recommendations

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Trading in your iPhone with Apple? You’ll get less than yesterday
An iPhone 14 Pro Max with the display turned on. We see the Home Screen and Pixel Pals running in the Dynamic Island.

For the second time in two months, Apple has reduced the trade-in values of many of its iPhones and other products.

Spotted by MacRumors, the adjustments are pretty significant for some of its handsets.

Read more
Mercedes EV charging hubs are coming to North America by the end of the decade
What a future Mercedes-Benz EV charging hub might look like.

You can't have more electric cars without more charging stations, so Mercedes-Benz is building a global charging network covering North America, China, Europe, and other major markets to support its goal of going all-electric by the end of the decade where market conditions allow.

Announced at CES 2023, the network should be in place by the end of the decade in line with Mercedes' electrification goal. It's a bold move by the automaker, which has mostly relied on third-party charging networks until now.

Read more
The Sony Honda Afeela car is peak CES, and I’m totally here for it
Yasuhide Mizuno, representative director, chairman and CEO of Sony Honda Mobility Inc., introduces the Afeela EV.

Everyone knew what was coming. Sitting a half-dozen rows back at the Sony press conference the afternoon before the CES show floor actually opened, you could tell by the layout of the booth — drastically different from what Sony had in previous years — that something big was going to be wheeled out.

That something, of course, was a car. It wasn't a big secret. Folks were talking about it on the bus ride to the Las Vegas Convention Center from the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, where a good chunk of the work happens before the CES doors are open. Folks were talking about it — in all sorts of languages — in the long line down the hallway that separates two of the bigger halls at the LVCC. English. Japanese. Spanish. So many others. And you didn't have to actually know what they were saying to know what they were talking about.

Read more