Hive, the smart home device company, has entered into a “strategic partnership” with chargepoint mapping and payment firm Zapmap, offering £20 of credit for use at public chargers to new Hive EV customers who purchase a home chargepoint from the firm.
Customers who take Hive EV up on this offer can access the credit by using the Zapmap smartphone app when paying for charging at any public charger offering payment via Zapmap.
Hive is owned by Centrica, the parent company of British Gas. It began life offering smart home thermostats to domestic customers, and now sells smart lightbulbs, as well as solar panels and associated battery-storage solutions.
Zapmap and Hive EV say the £20 credit for new chargepoint installations is just the first initiative to come out of the partnership, which is “is set to explore bringing together the Hive app and Zapmap’s digital platform to offer further exciting customer benefits”. These are set to include a service that will allows drivers to track their EV charging habits across domestic and public chargers.
Hive EV’s home chargepoints retail at £799 for a tethered (IE with attached cable) unit, and £739 for an untethered one that motorists plug their own cables into. Those prices don’t include installation, though, which has to be quoted for on a case-by-case basis, and can, regardless of provider, run to over £1,000 depending on the configuration of a home’s build and its electricity supply. Hive EV customers can be reimbursed for their first 12 months of charging if they sign up to a British Gas electricity tariff, though.
Susan Wells, Hive EV’s director, says the two firms are “exploring how we can bring together the Hive app and Zapmap’s digital platform”. With a view to saving drivers money and “contributing to a greener, fairer future”.
Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder of Zapmap, says the “‘home and away’ charging proposition is designed to support new Hive customers to get out and about on the public charging network, giving them confidence to take longer journeys in their new EV”.
