Google is working on a brand new feature for Google Maps that targets a particular type of user: electric vehicle drivers. If you happen to own a Tesla or a competing electric car, then you’re probably well aware that Google Maps has been showing EV charging stations on its maps for quite a while now. The feature can come in handy if you’re planning long drives, since running out of juice isn’t something no one wants to deal with. Now, Google is about to enable a brand new Google Maps feature that will make taking trips in an EV even easier.
Code strings found in Google Maps 10.30 suggest that Google is looking to integrate EV charging station payments right inside Google Maps, xda-developers reports, which means you won’t have to exit the app to make a payment to a charging network. The code that was discovered in Google Maps 10.30 makes it possible for users to add payment methods for EV charging stations. Furthermore, the app also contains an electric vehicle profile that will let you update your profile with the kind of car you drive. That way, only compatible charging stations will show up on the map in the future.
Google Maps currently pulls EV charging station data from a variety of sources, including Tesla, Chargepoint, SemaConnect, EVgo, Blink, Chargemaster, Pod Point, and Chargefox. Allowing users to customize their EV charging experience and make payments more easily sounds like the next logical step for Google Maps.
The newly found features aren’t available yet in any versions of Google Maps, but xda speculates that an announcement from Google might be coming soon.
