The Greek start-up Carge Private Company has launched in Romania the Carge app through which you can book, charge and pay in several charging stations in the country, without the need for RFID cards for each operator. The tariffs are those charged by the operators. Carge does not charge a commission from those who charge plug-in hybrid or electric cars using the app.
The Carge app is currently available in Greece and Romania, and in the next years will be available in 12 more European countries: Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
In Romania, you can book, charge and pay through the Carge app at one of the 383 charging stations operated by E.ON Energie Romania, Renovatio E-Charge, Hrvatski Telekom (Etrel), has.to.be, and very soon Enel X.
The reservation of the charge can be made only in the electric stations in Romania that have a software that allows this.
Carge is the only app in the EU that does not need to have RFID tags. All stations can be unlocked by tapping one button from your smartphone. That easy! Besides, drivers do not have to pay an amount in advance in their wallet. You just pay the moment you stop charging, Eleftherios Karabatsakis, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Carge.
The Most Instagrammable Luxury Cars of the World
On some specific stations, drivers can book in advance the spot. The Carge app provides 24/7 support in English and in Romanian. The app is translated into Romanian and provides valuable data to the drivers, as well as a reward program ”Carge ‘n’ Win” which is giving free credits for the next charging sessions. The app also has a smart navigator, which selects the optimal path for avoiding taffic jams.
Drivers add their card during the registration. No amount is debited in advance. The payment is being processed after the end of each charging session. Prices are exactly the same as on each different application of each Operator.
Carge doesn’t charge drivers any commission. The use of the application is free, drivers must pay for electricity consumption according to the price policy of each company (payment per kWh or per minute).
There are also free charging stations in the Carge app. „Some of them are not connected to our system, but we show them the location if the drivers want to go there,” added Eleftherios Karabatsakis.
To navigate to a charging station, Carge suggests one of the Google Maps or Waze applications.
The application shows the available charging points for each station, the exact adress and, for some stations, offers the possibility to book a charging session. The app can also tell you if the station is up and running or has a problem. There are also several filters in the application to search for stations by the type of charger that a driver needs to charge a plug-in car.
The app will be available on CarPlay soon and gives you the ability to safely use it while you drive.
In Europe, Carge will also collaborate with: Virta, Ionity, Innogy, Greenway, Porsche, Elmu-Emasz, Petrol d.d., and 29 more companies.
Carge Private Company is registered on the Greek start-up platform Elevate Greece. The company aims to become the largest provider of e-mobility services in Southeast Europe by providing access to over 130,000 public charging points in over 15 European countries.
The idea behind Carge was for drivers to be able to charge and pay quickly at multiple charging stations without having a card or application for each operator. The start-up wants to integrate all European networks of charging points to provide seamless access to users through a simple application.
Carge Private Company is a start-up based in Athens, Greece, established in 2020.