Every charging provider has an app. I call that Appflation. And I think most of these apps exist because those companies believe they need one, not because the customer asked for it.
📱 I ask a simple question: Who voluntarily downloads an app that covers a fraction of the charging network, offers no price advantage and requires yet another account?
And on the other side, who uses a roaming app with access to hundred-thousands of chargers but prices that only make sense if someone else pays the bill?
🧱From years of systematically listening to over 40,000 EV drivers I can tell you: nobody ever asked for more apps. What they asked for was less friction. Felix Hamer has been documenting this relentlessly, showing how charging operators keep burying simple charging behind app downloads and subscription funnels.
My personal highlight? An Ad on a display at a fast-charger showing a lower price and a QR code that didn’t start a session but led to an app download with subscription registration. That’s not a customer journey. That’s an obstacle course.
🎣 And let’s be honest, the charging industry confuses lock-in with loyalty. Apps that only make economic sense once you’ve committed to the subscription. That’s not customer retention. That’s penalty-based engagement. Sticks instead of carrots!
There are apps that do it somewhat better. Some let you reserve a charger in advance. That’s real value because it removes uncertainty before you arrive. Others reward you for unplugging on time instead of punishing you for staying too long with blocking fees.
🧼 I think, the future of charging apps is consolidation anyway. Companies like EasyPark with millions of users are integrating charging into existing platforms. Also more and more cars offer Plug&Charge. Yet in practice most cars lock you into their own charging provider. Your car decides who bills you, not you. That’s the same lock-in problem one level up.
🏅So the real question for every charging provider running an app today is: what does your app offer that survives in the future? What value remains when the customer no longer needs your app to start a session? If the answer is nothing beyond access and a discounted price, you’re building for a world that is already disappearing.
Apps are not the problem. Apps that solve nothing are the problem. And the industry has too many of those.
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