Apple is providing Porsche Taycan owners with more options for planning trips around EV charging locations. As announced on the Porsche website, Taycan models in the US can now make use of Apple Maps EV Routing, a feature within Apple CarPlay that allows drivers to plan routes that include charging stations and adjusts directions based on the vehicle’s remaining battery life.
Apple Maps EV Routing provides directions based on real-time traffic information while monitoring the vehicle’s charge levels and identifying appropriate charging stations during a journey. When the Taycan’s battery drops too low, the service will direct drivers to the nearest compatible charging station and provide estimated charging times.
The Porsche Taycan is only the second car to adopt Apple Maps’ EV routing since the feature was announced in 2020. At that time, Apple said it was working with Ford and BMW to integrate EV routing into their vehicles. Three years on and it still hasn’t made its way onto any BMW models, with the Ford Mustang Mach-E being the only other vehicle to support the feature.
Prior to this update, Taycan owners had to close CarPlay to create a route that included charging stops via Apple Maps. Taycan models already include Porsche’s own Charging Planner which can similarly direct drivers to charging locations based on the vehicle’s anticipated battery life. Porsche claims the Apple Maps EV Routing feature isn’t intended to replace this, but provide its customers with more route planning options.
“We’ve listened to our customers, and they appreciate flexibility,” says Steffen Haug, Managing Director, Porsche Digital in the company’s press release. “This integration with a product that they are already familiar with gives more options and confidence in how they use their Taycan, both in day-to-day activities and on longer road trips.”
Apple Maps EV Routing is supported on all Taycan models, but Porsche notes that models from 2021 or older will need to have a free software update installed at a Porsche service workshop to enable it. Otherwise, Taycan owners just need to connect the My Porsche App with Apple Maps on an iPhone running at least iOS 16.4.
