Alexa helps keep you charged on the go: An interview between Arne Meusel, Managing Director/Founder, CIRRANTiC and Arianne Walker, Chief Evangelist, Alexa Auto

The electric vehicle market exceeded two million vehicles sold annually in 2019, reaching 2.5% global share, and automakers continue to invest heavily in this technology for the future. At Amazon, we are always striving to connect our customers to great experiences that make their lives easier while they are on the road and the time is ripe to provide customers driving electric vehicles the same great experience in using their voice to find and pay for “fuel” as those customers driving internal combustion engines. CIRRANTiC recently launched their MOOVILITY skill in the EU to do just that.

Today, we’re talking to Arne Meusel, CEO of CIRRANTiC, about the experience of developing an Alexa skill.  

Walker: Let’s start with a little background on CIRRANTiC.

Meusel: My partner Ulrich Heitmann and I founded CIRRANTiC in 2014 because we believe that the way humans interact with the planet needs to change and we are working to accelerate and facilitate this transformation at the crossroads of energy and mobility, helping to make it easier than ever to “make the world drive electric.”

Walker: Can you tell us a little bit more about the skill your team created?

Meusel: As an EV charging aggregator, we have integrated with charging stations operators across Europe, making it easy for customers to find charging stations including availability, operators, charging prices and additional services, no matter the operator of the station. We also make it easy to see live charging data without having to rely on different network apps. The MOOVILITY skill helps customers connect to all of that information by simply using your voice, which means customers can gather this information easily while they are on the go without needing to pull over to do a search on their phone.

Walker: When did you launch the skill?

Meusel: The MOOVILITY skill first launched on December 6, 2020, helping customers to find and book EV charging stations with Alexa. On December 22, 2020 we launched the first major update that includes “skill resumption,” which provides our customers proactive notifications on charging station status. This means that the customer will be notified if the charger they were planning to use gets taken by another patron or if it becomes nonoperational, so that the customer can search for a new location for charging even before they arrive. The MOOVILITY skill is the first third-party Alexa skill to go live with the “skill resumption” feature.

Walker: Is this skill available all across Europe?

Meusel: So far, the skill has launched in France, Germany, and the UK marketplaces.

Walker: What are the biggest benefits to the customer?

Meusel: MOOVILITY makes it easy for customers to find charging stations, reducing range anxiety in their electric vehicles because it’s always easy to find the best charging station based on customer preferences, which can be customized in the MOOVILITY app . And, with Alexa, it’s easy to do that while the customer is en route or from their home, or office, their favorite destination, or on a longer road trip. MOOVILITY also provides wallet services at that charger to initiate the charging session with Alexa, and we are planning to extend this feature with Amazon Pay later this year.

Walker: Why was this important to your company?

Meusel: As an EV charging aggregator, we benefit by making the experience better for our existing customers, which includes operators, partners and end customers. It also increases the reach of our EV charging services and software platforms to customers using Alexa in their cars, whether it’s in a new car with Alexa embedded, or a slightly older model with Alexa brought in through an aftermarket device.

Walker: What’s next?

MeuselArne: We are actively working on expanding our EV partners across Europe and the US. We are working on improving the service by integrating Amazon Pay for even easier payment, even if the customer hasn’t activated their MOOVILITY wallet. We’re also expanding on a subscription service and charging station recommendations features to make the experience even more delightful for our customers.

Walker: If people want to learn more about MOOVILITY, where should they go?

Meusel: We have some great videos to show how the skill works at https://MOOVILITY.me/app/.