Toyota Public Charging Network

[Malop]

I asked Toyota about the free 6 months of TPCN you get with a BZ4 after learning its £4.99 a month after the 6 months. Got the response below and now struggling what benefit you get over something like Zap-Map or A Better Route Planner (especially use Car Play or auto instead of built in sat nav.

The Toyota Public Charging network is one subscription that gives you access to multiple Charge Point Operators (CPO’s) across the country, rather than having to have different subscriptions for different CPOs.

It also helps:

• Find your Local charge points, or plan for your long journeys using the MyT app. (only
shows CPO’s on the subscription).
• Navigate to the charge point with Send to Car or use 3rd party map provider and
connect to CarPlay / Android Auto.
• Charge Point Information: Speed / Power, Cables types, Availability, Prices, Opening
times, CPO contact info and how to unlock (QR scan or RFID).
• Ability to rate and review charge points.
• Filter tool to find the charge point that suits your needs the best.
• Charging report summary on the website.
• Invoices stored on the website.

There is no discount on the cost of electricity.

[Cyker]

Wait what? What's the point of that if you still have to pay full-gouge rates??

 

[duncerduncs]

I'd be interested to know if you can have it for one month only?

I only drive to Devon once or twice a year so would only need that service - a better route planner can do most of that for less!

[Malop]

Comparing it to other manufacturers it seems a raw deal.

With Volvo you get a free PlugSurfing card which if you link to your car you then get discount at Ionity charge points.

Hyundai gives you a similar card.

Maybe Toyota will be able to leverage discounts from suppliers once they have got subscription numbers up 

[ernieb]

And once again only shows CPO's on the subscription, Betamax/VHS again?

Surely, there should be no need to 'apply' a filter, the app should already know what are the best options for the model of car. A filter might be useful to rank the CPO's by charge rate, cost.

[Malop]

And not forgetting BZ4 buyers in the US get this:

Customers who purchase or lease a new 2023 Toyota bZ4X will get one year of unlimited complimentary charging at all EVgo-owned and operated public charging stations nationwide. Customers will be able to use the Toyota App on their mobile device to sign up for this offer, locate EVgo stations and initiate complimentary charging for their new bZ4X.

[ernieb]

I guess it’s a much bigger market and every manufacturer is trying to find ways of clinching a deal.

[philip42h]

We've seen "a year's worth of free fuel" offers before ... and with an ICE they were probably worth more.

1 hour ago, Malop said:

one year of unlimited complimentary charging at all EVgo-owned and operated public charging stations nationwide

EVgo have 850 charging stations across the US - which isn't that many given the size of the US. But if there happens to be such a station on a driver's regular US commute it may be a tempting incentive. Worth at best say $1,000? And if drivers generally charge at home, and don't risk longer journeys, it will be worth even less. Sounds good though ... 😉

 

[nlee]

I use Electric Juice from Octopus. I say use, but not very often with a PHEV. You don't need to be an Octopus customer to join and it's fee free with no mark up on the unit rate. If you are an Octopus customer you can have the charges added to your energy bill.

It seems to cover more or less the same charging networks in the UK as the Toyota network does, with the main notable exception being Instavolt.

I don't see me paying £4.95 per month for the pleasure of it being integrated in a flaky MyT app.

[FROSTYBALLS]

4 hours ago, Malop said:

And not forgetting BZ4 buyers in the US get this:

Customers who purchase or lease a new 2023 Toyota bZ4X will get one year of unlimited complimentary charging at all EVgo-owned and operated public charging stations nationwide. 

Larger market, higher volume of sales - and Toyota's no.1 market ahead of Asia (Toyota's 2nd market) and Europe (3rd).  The UK being only a relatively small part of the European market.

[swoop5511]

I plan on using bonnet, pay as you go as I likely will not use more than 1-2 times a year. They seem to have a very wide coverage and pricing for the pay as you go tariff is currently is £0.35 per KW.

Bonnet | EV Charging Made Easy (joinbonnet.com)

My main criticism with the BZ4X (prior owning for a while ...) is the lack of proper route planning with charging and live use of Battery in the car. I know Kia/Hyundai and VW group cars all launched without. Hopefully something that will be added in a future update. Quick note, software upgrades are NOT free ...

[nlee]

51 minutes ago, swoop5511 said:

I plan on using bonnet, pay as you go as I likely will not use more than 1-2 times a year. They seem to have a very wide coverage and pricing for the pay as you go tariff is currently is £0.35 per KW.

Bonnet | EV Charging Made Easy (joinbonnet.com)

My main criticism with the BZ4X (prior owning for a while ...) is the lack of proper route planning with charging and live use of battery in the car. I know Kia/Hyundai and VW group cars all launched without. Hopefully something that will be added in a future update. Quick note, software upgrades are NOT free ...

That looks a great model. I like the flat rate unit charge. Looks like on the subscription plans the unused units roll over. Coverage isn't as good as some of the other combination cards or apps out there but hopefully they can get more partners on board, then it could well be appealing (may be appealing on PAYG now in conjunction with another option). Looks like a few promo codes flying around for first month free, and first charge free too.

Thanks for pointing it out.

 

[nlee]

16 hours ago, swoop5511 said:

I plan on using bonnet, pay as you go as I likely will not use more than 1-2 times a year. They seem to have a very wide coverage and pricing for the pay as you go tariff is currently is £0.35 per KW.

Bonnet | EV Charging Made Easy (joinbonnet.com)

My main criticism with the BZ4X (prior owning for a while ...) is the lack of proper route planning with charging and live use of battery in the car. I know Kia/Hyundai and VW group cars all launched without. Hopefully something that will be added in a future update. Quick note, software upgrades are NOT free ...

And just as it looks good, they increase the prices nearly 50% today! PAYG unit price up from 35p to 50p.

[philip42h]

It still says 35p on the Bonnet website ... but ...

I agree that the model is very attractive assuming the pricing remains reasonable - everything is going to get more expensive over the coming months.

But, the key limitation for me is that they don't appear to have any charging stations at motorway service stations. And that's where I would want them if going a longer journey in an EV ... And that limitation may exist for all such apps for all I know!

[Roger_N]

17 hours ago, nlee said:

That looks a great model. I like the flat rate unit charge. Looks like on the subscription plans the unused units roll over.

I would agree but as always the devil is in the detail, is it just a one month rollover, or an accumulation over a period?

[swoop5511]

2 hours ago, philip42h said:

It still says 35p on the Bonnet website ... but ...

I agree that the model is very attractive assuming the pricing remains reasonable - everything is going to get more expensive over the coming months.

But, the key limitation for me is that they don't appear to have any charging stations at motorway service stations. And that's where I would want them if going a longer journey in an EV ... And that limitation may exist for all such apps for all I know!

I am going to sign up to the pay as you go option regardless. Is there another solution with motorway charging options you know off?

[philip42h]

8 minutes ago, swoop5511 said:

... Is there another solution with motorway charging options you know off?

As I implied, 'no', but I'm still on self-charging hybrid power so I don't need this sort of thing ... yet.

A quick Google suggests that Gridserve may have something close to a monopoly over motorway service station charging. They claim to cover "85% of the UK’s motorway network" and are upgrading existing infrastructure with faster chargers.

Current pricing for High Power Chargers is 50p/kWh (which I guess isn't too terrible for the fastest charging option at a motorway service station). There's no App:

Quote

No membership is required to charge with us. You can use any contactless debit or credit bank card. We accept VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Apple Pay and Google Pay directly at the charging point.

 

[nlee]

4 hours ago, philip42h said:

It still says 35p on the Bonnet website ... but ...

I agree that the model is very attractive assuming the pricing remains reasonable - everything is going to get more expensive over the coming months.

But, the key limitation for me is that they don't appear to have any charging stations at motorway service stations. And that's where I would want them if going a longer journey in an EV ... And that limitation may exist for all such apps for all I know!

I signed up in the app yesterday, although I haven't completed the set up my account yet.

I got an email from them today advising new rates from 22nd June as below...

[Malop]

Toyota have built a website showing all the Charge Points. If you sign in using your Toyota ID you can see prices as well. 

They can be viewed here: https://www.toyota-charging-network.eu/web/toyota-gb/map

[philip42h]

24 minutes ago, Malop said:

Toyota have built a website showing all the Charge Points. If you sign in using your Toyota ID you can see prices as well. 

They can be viewed here: https://www.toyota-charging-network.eu/web/toyota-gb/map

Very useful ... though not particularly encouraging ... 😉

[nlee]

33 minutes ago, Malop said:

Toyota have built a website showing all the Charge Points. If you sign in using your Toyota ID you can see prices as well. 

They can be viewed here: https://www.toyota-charging-network.eu/web/toyota-gb/map

It looks like it's just the same as what is built into the MyT app from a quick glance?

[philip42h]

1 hour ago, nlee said:

It looks like it's just the same as what is built into the MyT app from a quick glance?

Of course it is - it's the self-same charging network, but it's accessible to all that have a My Toyota account rather than just the elite PHEVies (and bZ4xers, maybe). As you know, the functionality available via the MyT app depends on what vehicle one has registered ... 😉

[Malop]

Us poor BZ4X “recall wait” people can’t see the functionality in the app as we don’t officially have a charge point capable car yet 😉

[nlee]

1 hour ago, philip42h said:

Of course it is - it's the self-same charging network, but it's accessible to all that have a My Toyota account rather than just the elite PHEVies (and bZ4xers, maybe). As you know, the functionality available via the MyT app depends on what vehicle one has registered ... 😉

 

42 minutes ago, Malop said:

Us poor BZ4X “recall wait” people can’t see the functionality in the app as we don’t officially have a charge point capable car yet 😉

Apologies, it was rather selfish of me to not register that not having plug-in capability (or not having a car yet!) means you wouldn't have the capability to see it in the app.

I suppose it begs the question why you would be interested in where the chargers are then 😄

In all seriousness though, you would better using a navigation app or something like ZapMap, or similar, that shows most public charge points, rather than the very limited selection in the Toyota partner network, if you want to know coverage. Unless, of course you are planning to subscribe to their £5 a month model that you can get free elsewhere.

[philip42h]

1 minute ago, nlee said:

I suppose it begs the question why you would be interested in where the chargers are then 😄

Because those of us considering the pure EV option want to know just how impractical it's going to be right now ... and that will largely depend on an individual's probable journey profile and "sense of adventure". And, for me, that's still a 'no' - "hybrids are still us". Pure EVs are now adequate - you can get something with decent range and a reasonably quick recharge capability - the infrastructure still appears to be wholly inadequate (for a relaxed, low risk, journey).