Massive Update: MyChevrolet App Route Planner / On the Go Charging Feature

[Infinion]

MyChevrolet App has recently undergone a significant expansion of its capabilities for the Spark EV with something called the "Energy Assist" feature. It looks like it had an initial rollout in 2020 for the Bolt EV and a refresh 10 months ago. Now just a few days ago, a recent update has unlocked the rich set of features for the Spark EV.

I'm just scratching the surface, but here are the main takeaways from my limited hangout with the app:

1. "google maps for EVs" Route planner with roundtrip and 1-way range bubbles
2. Unified activation and payment across networks
3. Level 1/2/DCFC charger network on map with live status
4. Route assistant that pulls live telemetry data from the car while you drive along your route plan. Requires phone to be connected to the car via USB port. That's likely not going to work with the Spark EV's infotainment system unless someone says otherwise, so at that point you can hit the button to open your route in google maps.

Some of the features on this app don't seem to work all the time (unstable/buggy). After updating the location and charge the first time, I had to toggle a random setting in a different submenu to get it to update a second time. hopefully they make it more stable in the future because it's a really promising and arguably essential tool.

I've been using ABRP with TorquePro and Bolt PIDs to pull telemetry data from the car with an OBD II dongle. Would be really nice if all you needed was an OEM app and USB cable so the learning curve doesn't look like a cliff to 99% of drivers out there. But like I said, I doubt it's compatible with the spark's infotainment system.

Skip to 0:48 to see the new app features from Chevy: https://youtu.be/o1P-GpPtllQ


longer summary:

• Route Planner: Energy Assist now offers route planner that naturally provides public charging as part of the route planning experience. This behaves similar to the 3rd party ABRP ( A Better Route Planner), but it eliminates the need of an OBD II dongle and TorquePro!!!
• The planner is rich in information. It accounts for SOC, elevation changes, temperature, efficiency in Wh/mi or kWh / 100km at different road speeds, all viewable in route summary graphs. You can also select alternative routes that shows the average efficiency in Wh/mi or kWh/100km.
• The map has PlugShare and 30+ charge network integration that lets you view user-submitted comments and data, as well as live level 2 and DCFC station status.
• You can add/delete your own personal waypoints just with a long press on the map to add unlisted or private chargers, and specify their charge speed in kW, then you can always plan a route to that location on the map in the future.
• The biggest feature IMO is the projected range blob or "energy bubble" overlayed on the map, which shows you your round trip and one-way range based on the car's current state of charge, elevation, and efficiency at road speeds. You can also manually modify the SOC and car location when you enter "simulation mode" to play around with different scenarios and see how the projected range overlayed on the map would change
• Unification of EVgo, Chargepoint, SemaConnect, and evconnect (so far) networks so charger activation and payment is routed through the MyChevrolet App. You still need to link your account from the network to Chevy's Energy Assist, but it should be a one-time process and you can do it in advance in the settings / hamburger menu. This should have been done 10 years ago, but now that it's here, it means GM just alleviated the single most frustrating user experience associated with driving EVs, filling up.

I'll probably use the hell out of the energy bubble and charging station map. I often have to switch between ChargePoint's app and EV Box's SWITCH app, so a PlugShare integration with the possibility of even activating a charge in a single app is really attractive.