Stellantis’ mobility business, Free2move, remains in growth mode, adding EV charging to the portfolio with Free2move Charge.
The new business is a “360-degree ecosystem” that will essentially bring charging and energy management to electric vehicle owners, rather than them searching for places to get more juice. The offering is part of the new Stellantis Charging & Energy Business Unit.
“As the pace of mainstream EV adoption accelerates, our customers need us to be more than just a mobility provider,” said Ricardo Stamatti, senior vice president, Stellantis Charging & Energy Business Unit.
“We are taking the lead in establishing a dedicated business unit that will support our bold electrification strategy and act as a natural extension of our iconic brands. Free2move Charge is the first product rolling out, exemplifying our purpose of delivering performance, value, sustainability and electrified mobility freedom for all.”
Always full
The idea behind the new business is boiled down to a simple pledge, the e-ABC Promise. It’s short for easy to Always Be Charged. The goal for the business to work with EV owners to ensure their vehicles are always charged and do so efficiently and in an environmentally friendly way. This should reduces the cost of ownership for users as well.
“Working with a Free2move e-Genius team, customers will be able to create a personalized package they can change and adapt at any time during the ownership experience, allowing it to evolve and always be tailored to their needs. e-Genuis support will be available first in Europe,” the company said in a release.
Stellantis notes Free2move Charge is a “key tool” in the company’s Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan that has the company selling 100% of its passenger car sales being electric by 2030 and 50% in the U.S. by that time.
How it works
The new business is built upon three pillars for EV owners to utilize.
Free2move Charge Home delivers private customers support with installation, financing and warranty of home charging and other energy hardware and services. Options can range from AC charging cables and wall boxes today to Vehicle-2-Home, Vehicle-2-Grid, and complete energy management systems with cutting-edge features like touch-free wireless solutions and inductive robot charging under development for future releases
Free2move Charge Business tackles all hurdles as a one-stop-shop platform with a full suite of charging and energy services: early-on support, estimation of initial and future running costs, right-sizing of charging infrastructure, installation, maintenance and public charging access while on the go
Free2move Charge GO guarantees seamless access to the largest possible curated network of public charging points through partners in North America and Europe, as well as other regions to be announced soon. In addition to access, payment and 24-7 support, Free2move Charge GO will progressively launch leading features like Plug and Charge, reservations, loyalty programs, subscriptions, prepaid packages, single invoice/billing and even deliver a charge to a requested location when needed
Free2move Charge will harness the power of the Stellantis Energy Cloud, seamlessly integrating with vehicle-branded mobile apps and the state-of-the-art STLA SmartCockpit platform launching in 2024 to deliver fast, intelligent routes and charging recommendations to customers based on their actual usage and needs, the company noted.
Free2move Charge will guide Stellantis customers through an onboarding process to understand their individual needs, allowing for deep personalization and using AI learning to constantly improve its knowledge about the most convenient individual charging experience.