- 3 companies join hands to develop emergency recharging service for fully drained electric vehicle batteries
- “The service will make up for lack of recharging infrastructure and improve convenience and safety for customers”

All-inclusive car care brand SpeedMate of SK networks (CEO: Sang Kyu Park) collaborates with Mintech (CEO: Hong Young-jin) and Eva (CEO: Lee Hoon) to develop an emergency electric vehicle (EV) recharging service.

SpeedMate announced on the 21st that they forged an MOU on emergency EV recharging service partnership to develop and work on the customer service that could make up for recharging infrastructure struggling to catch up with the penetration rate of electric vehicles and ensure the safety of driving patrons.

To that end, SpeedMate will embed EV recharging systems on its emergency service fleet currently in operation to be dispatched in response customer requests forwarded by partnering insurers. The emergency recharging service will cover Jeju Island first this year and expand its coverage to the rest of the country next year, with operational processes adapted and service design upgraded. In the partnership, Mintech will develop portable EV batteries with battery diagnostics technology, etc. Whereas Eva will provide technical advice for the service, leveraging its knowhow for portable rechargers.

The emergency EV recharging service to be provided by SpeedMate will be powered by stability-guaranteed batteries produced by SK on and compatible with all EVs, regardless of their makers and models. Field care and towing services will be also available to take care of fully discharged auxiliary batteries and flat tires, etc. These services are expected to boost up the comfort and safety of customers.

As the mobility landscape changes in and out of the country, needs for emergency EV recharging service will grow ever more. EVs operating in Korea increased by a drastic margin of 100,000 in 2021 alone, and as the EU (European Union) member nations will prohibit the distribution of internal combustion engine-powered vehicles in three to 15 years, EVs are expected to penetrate the market at an increasingly rapid pace. As EVs feature less maximum driving range than internal combustion engine-powered vehicles even when fully charged, they are more likely to be grounded on the road. In contrast, one rapid charger in Korea covers 15.3 EVs on average, far lower than the global average of 9 EVs, and no Korean insurer has launched an EV recharging service yet.

An official at SpeedMate said, “When the emergency EV recharging service is developed thanks to the partnership MOU, recharging cost and turnaround time will be drastically reduced in comparison with the conventional service design that requires fully discharged EVs to be towed to nearby charging stations,” and added, “We will try to ensure convenience and safety for EV users by providing an emergency EV recharging service in response to the ever-evolving mobility landscape.”

[Photo caption] In the Speedmate-Mintech-Eva partnership MOU signing ceremony, Chang Young-uk Head of SpeedMate Division (center) poses for a celebration photo with CEO Hong Young-jin of Mintech (left) and CEO Lee Hoon of Eva (right).