Kia customers will be able to collect credit for free electric vehicle (EV) charging as part of a new rewards echem set-up in partnership with &Charge.
Accessed via a smartphone app, &Charge allows users to collect EV charging credits when shopping at a number of UK retailers including M&S, booking.com, Ocado, Waterstones, Boots, B&Q, Wickes, Foot Locker.
Credits can be redeemed to pay for public charging sessions.
Customers can also earn credits by providing information and feedback on public charging stations.
Sjoerd Knipping, vice president marketing and product at Kia Europe, said: “As we expand our EV offering, it is important that the charging network offers the same accessibility and quality of experience that our customers have come to expect from our state-of-the-art EVs.
“Collaboration with the ‘&Charge’ service platform can only strengthen our ability to meet this objective.”
In the UK, customers can access more than 300 retailers via the ‘&Charge’ service platform.
Users spending money through ‘&Charge’ build up ‘&Charge Kilometres’, with each kilometre equivalent to an average of £0.071 in Kia Charge credits (depending on retailer).
For example, if a brand offers one ‘&Charge Kilometre’ for every £3 spent, users spending £99 with this retailer would earn around £2.34 in Kia Charge credits to contribute towards their next public charge.
&Charge also allows users to provide feedback on individual charging station performance, and post accompanying images of chargers.
Kia said users can earn between one and five ‘&Charge Kilometres’ for each picture they contribute.
The crowd-sourced data is then used to help charge point operators (CPOs) verify issues and help improve the reliability and user experience at their public charging stations.
“By providing feedback, Kia customers will not only earn ‘&Charge Kilometres’ to use on public charging via the Kia Charge app but also help to ensure that the public charging infrastructure is operating at the level required to ensure progression of the e-mobility movement,” Knipping added.
Kia aims to offer a line-up of 14 fully electric models by 2027, in line with its ‘Plan S’ strategy.
2023 will see the production-ready debut of the EV9 SUV. The new model is based on Kia’s Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP).
The service is live in the UK, and customers can download the app via and-charge.com, App Store, or Google Play Store.
The Korean brand was named Manufacturer of the Year at the 2022 AM Awards.
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- Source: https://www.am-online.com/news/manufacturer/2023/01/19/kia-launches-ev-charging-rewards-programme