Charging an electric car in public can be a pain in the butt. Assuming you have the app set up correctly with your payment information, it's no harder than filling up for gas, but if you pull up to an unfamiliar charging network, good luck getting it to go through on the first try. This is a pain point that Tesla has eliminated with its Supercharger network. Because the chargers only work on Tesla vehicles in the US (as of this writing), the ecosystem allows drivers to plug in and charge without having to worry about credit cards or phone apps.

EVgo has just announced a similar feature called Autocharge+. It allows compatible EVs to start charging in seconds simply by plugging in. This will make non-Tesla EV ownership infinitely better.

If this new feature sounds familiar, thats because EVgo already announced something similar called Plug and Charge, which only worked on General Motors vehicles like the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq.

Autocharge+ is far more expansive, working with most CCS EVs like the Chevrolet Bolt, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Ford F-150 Lightning, Genesis GV60, GMC Hummer EV, Hyundai Ioniq Electric, Hyundai Kona Electric, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia Niro Electric, Kia EV6, Mercedes-Benz EQS, Polestar 2, Subaru Solterra, Toyota bZ4x, and Volvo XC40 Recharge.

Outside of Volkswagen Group models like the Volkswagen ID.4, Audi e-tron models, and Porsche Taycan, plus the BMW i4 and iX, this list pretty much covers every other relevant EV. We imagine the VW exclusion stems from the company's ownership of Electrify America, a competing charging network. Unfortunately, CHAdeMO cars like the Nissan Leaf are also ineligible.

Setting up Autocharge+ is a fairly easy process. Simply open the EVgo app, navigate to the vehicle section, add your EV, and request to enroll. Then just plug in to complete the enrollment, unless it's a GM vehicle, which can finish the process on the GM app for their specific model (using myChevrolet, myCadillac, etc.).

"EVgo believes every step of the charging experience must be convenient and easy, including locating and reserving a charger, finding nearby shopping and experiences, and now with Autocharge+, seamlessly initiating a charging session," said Ivo Steklac, Chief Technology Officer at EVgo.

"The modern digital technology we've built is making charging an EV even simpler than fueling up at a gas station. Autocharge+ is game-changing just like mobile wallets and same-day delivery have become, once again demonstrating EVgo's leadership in delivering cutting-edge charging services for EV drivers."