Key Takeaways
- Ford now allows you to use Google Maps to plan EV trips.
- Android Auto will communicate projected trip times and make plans around charges.
- For automobiles, this is nothing new, but for Ford, it’s a significant improvement.
Google Maps now offers EV routing for your Ford Mustang Mach-E or F-150 Lightning, ensuring that you pass charging outlets along the way.
CES in January hinted to the capability, which uses an Android phone with Android Auto to schedule trips around EV chargers and account for recharging time. To optimize charging speeds, it may even preheat your EV to the ideal temperature.
If you have a NACS adaptor (or eventually native NACS compatibility), you can use Tesla Supercharging stations as part of this.
As long as your Android phone is running the most recent version of Google Maps and is connected to your car, you will be able to use the feature. EV navigation is already available to iPhone users via CarPlay on Apple Maps.
The appeal is obvious. This enables you to schedule reasonable routes and travel times for lengthy rides, just like with iPhones. You’ll be able to determine whether you’ll need to make too many detours or whether there are enough fast chargers to make that cross-country adventure feasible.
Irony also exists because Ford recently advised certain EV users to stop using Tesla charging adapters due to worries that they could cause damage to ports and progressively slow down performance. Owners might not need to utilize Google Maps navigation very often in the near future, but free replacements are on the way.
Other automakers, such as Google-based vehicles like those made by Chevy and Polestar, can also direct your vehicle around charging stations, so you don’t need a Ford EV to accomplish this. However, the improvement makes the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning, two of the most well-known electric vehicles in the US, more useful.
