4 Android Auto Apps Every Electric Vehicle Owner Should Install

Android Auto has been available for a while now, and as the ecosystem has grown, different types of vehicle owners have found it to be a beneficial part of their driving experience. There are a number of core Android Auto apps that can be installed independently, but right out of the box drivers can access popular core apps like Google Maps. There are even several ways to use Google Gemini with Android Auto for those interested in AI integrations.

And while all kinds of third-party apps are available for owners of traditional gasoline vehicles, the Android Auto ecosystem also offers useful options for owners of electric vehicles. With the right apps, planning long trips and finding available charging stations can be done through the Android Auto platform, as can finding charging stations with amenities and activities to do while you wait for your vehicle to charge.

Here, we’ve done the heavy lifting and spotted what we think are some Android Auto apps that every electric vehicle owner should have on their infotainment system. Whether you regularly drive your electric vehicle on long trips or use it on a more limited basis, each of these Android Auto apps is a worthwhile consideration for your vehicle.

A Better Routeplanner, more commonly known as ABRP, is a navigation app designed specifically for electric vehicle owners. It can be especially great to use with your family electric car, as the app makes planning road trips and other getaways easier. Once a starting point and destination are entered into ABRP, the app will provide a trip plan that includes charging stops, estimated charging times at each stop, projected battery levels throughout the trip and much more. ABRP even has a built-in database of over 1,000 electric vehicles, meaning it can provide accurate estimates based on the specific vehicle you own.

While there is a free version of ABRP that includes features like route planning with located charging stations and in-app navigation, Android Auto support is secured by a premium subscription that costs $5 per month. Going premium also offers features like live charger availability in plans, weather forecasts, and a recorded history of your driving and charging stops. But with over a million downloads and an overall 4.5-star rating on the Google Play Store, ABRP is a great app for taking routes you’re not used to and planning adventures on roads you haven’t yet traveled in an electric vehicle.

While ABRP is designed around detailed EV travel planning, Waze is a navigation app that can help EV owners get from one place to another with a clear user interface. It offers broader navigation tools such as real-time traffic data, estimated arrival times, and turn-by-turn directions. Like ABRP, Waze can be configured to display charging stations along a route, even if that route is much shorter than a weekend getaway. With the ability to reroute during busy traffic hours, Waze is meant to be a versatile navigation app, and in many ways Waze is better than Google Maps. It also has an element of crowdsourcing, as it allows you to share car accidents and road hazards with other Waze users.

The general nature of Waze is what may make it beneficial for EV owners in a general sense, but it’s also something that could be considered a disadvantage. Its ability to report nearby charging stations can help EV owners when plug-in time approaches, but unlike ABRP, it’s not as detailed and works best when combined with your own foresight. Waze is a solid navigation option for driving an electric vehicle in cities or on routes where you already know the distance between charging points. It’s a regular recommendation for those looking for a Google Maps replacement, and it has over half a billion downloads on the Google Play Store.

While navigation-focused apps are able to show EV drivers the way to the next charging station, PlugShare offers EV owners a much more detailed overview of those charging stations. It covers charging stations on major networks and allows drivers to search for locations compatible with their specific electric vehicle. On Android Auto, users can not only locate charging stations by specific charging networks, but also by features and services. PlugShare searches can be filtered by connection type, charging speed, and even nearby amenities, such as restaurants and restrooms. PlugShare doesn’t have built-in navigation, but it is capable of sending the location of a charging station directly to the user’s navigation app of choice.

The app has reached over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store and has an overall rating of 4.6 stars. PlugShare’s community features are some of the things that set it apart from other Android Auto apps. With PlugShare, EV drivers can leave reviews on charging stations and connect directly with other EV owners. Although PlugShare claims to have “the most accurate and comprehensive public charging map in the world,” it also has an element of crowdsourcing, as users can submit charging stations they find that are not listed on the PlugShare map. They can also submit photos of any charging station to help other EV drivers determine if each location is the right stopping point for them.

Electrify America is one of the largest charging networks, and the Electrify America app is one of the most useful Android Auto apps for drivers who regularly access public fast charging. It allows Electrify America charging stations to be visible directly on a vehicle’s main screen. There you will find details of each charging station and directions can be provided without having to switch to a dedicated navigation app. Electric vehicle drivers can also save their favorite stations for future stops. Once charging is complete, the Electrify America app offers controls for the charging station and can even send notifications to your smartphone throughout the charging process.

Of course, the app is limited to charging stations on the Electrify America charging network. Longtime EV owners may have already stumbled upon another preferred charging network, in which case you might want to consider an app like the aforementioned PlugShare. But many charging networks have their own dedicated app, as does Electrify America. If you prefer to keep your Android Auto interface simple and clean, it’s worth doing some research to determine if there’s a single charging network app suited to both your specific electric vehicle and your electric driving needs. If Electrify America ends up being that app, the benefits come with a $7 per month paid subscription, including significantly reduced charging costs.

There are plenty of Android Auto apps worth installing, but here we’ve looked at those apps under the microscope of electric vehicle ownership. The EV app ecosystem is still developing and it can be difficult to find Android Auto apps that can be truly beneficial for electric vehicle owners. For this reason, our main goal was exactly that: to find applications that can benefit all electric vehicle owners.

We relied on our own knowledge of electric vehicles and the apps available on the Google Play Store as a starting point, narrowing things down to apps that interact well with the Android Auto platform. We know that finding charging points and planning routes are among the biggest concerns of electric vehicle owners. Each app we’ve chosen alleviates these common concerns, whether it’s finding something to do while you wait for your vehicle to charge or knowing how to drive long, unfamiliar distances without ending up on the side of the road with a dead battery.