■ Easy check on the battery status, including car deterioration, distance to empty, and charging history

■ Plans underway to expand into the battery diagnosis verification business in the future, expectations to vitalize of the secondhand EV market

A service was released where users can easily check the mileage and charging history of the electric vehicle (EV) batteries, as well as the deterioration status and the distance to empty by weather condition. On top of that, users can now have a checkup on their EVs at the repair shops themselves.

On October 4 (KST), SK On announced that it officially launched “EV My Car Management” service, after closely cooperating with SK Rent-a-car and Macarong Factory.

This service will be available through Mycle of Macarong Factory, which is the number one car management application in Korea. In the past, Mycle had only focused on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, but through the cooperation of the three companies this time, the application has become available for EVs as well.

To enjoy this service, EV drivers only need to install Mycle application on their phones, then visit one of the 400 or so repair shops across the country that partnered with Macarong Factory, and installing the Smartlink, a comprehensive car management solution device of SK Rent-a-car, into their own vehicles.

SK Rent-a-car is responsible for transferring the real-time data collected via Smartlink into the Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) system, which was self-developed by SK On.

SK On then uses the collected data to automatically measure and analyze the battery status and provides the app users with the result in real time through the Mycle app.

Through this service, EV drivers can easily look at the current battery status and get a checkup of their vehicles in repair shops that are partnered with Mycle. Moreover, they can also see the battery management scores based on their charging habits and their usual charging environments, allowing them to manage the batteries of their cars easier.

The battery performance is directly related to the lifespan of the EVs. Therefore, it is crucial for the drivers to find out the battery status and manage it properly. However, there were not enough services that EV drivers could easily access.

The three companies thus expect that this cooperation will provide EV drivers with an environment where they can systematically manage the batteries simply by using a mobile application.

On top of this, the three companies are planning to link this service with the battery diagnosis and verification business for secondhand EVs. Once the battery diagnosis technology is enhanced, the residual value of the batteries will be identified with greater accuracy, thereby helping consumers evaluate the value of a used EV better. In short, the three companies expect that such a service will vitalize the secondhand EV market in the future.

According to the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the number of EVs in the country was 860 in 2012, but now the number is expected to jump to over 300,000 vehicles by the end of this year. The soaring number of EVs in the country calls for the greater need for a reliable secondhand EV market.

SK On has been putting in various effort to build the BaaS ecosystem prior to the launch of this service.

Last November, SK On worked with Soft Berry to run a battery diagnosis pilot service in “EV Infra,” the EV charging application.

And this February, SK On signed a business agreement with K Car, the largest secondhand vehicles platform company in South Korea, to measure and verify the residual value of the EV batteries. In May, SK On also signed an agreement for the sustainable and environmentally friendly EV mobile charging service with SK Rent-a-car.

Kim Gi-poong, CEO of Macarong Factory, said “It’s important that we can offer a car management service that covers both the ICEs and EVs. This cooperation will serve as an opportunity for our application to be an essential one for more and more drivers.”

Lee Kyong-min, Head of SK On e-Mobility Business Office, said “The launch of this service will bring much convenience for drivers to manage their EV batteries, and help the BaaS ecosystem expand as well.” “SK On will continue to cooperate with various companies in the future to expand the virtuous cycle in ecosystem of the EV batteries.”

[Photo]

On October 4 (KST), SK On officially launched “EV My Car Management” service cooperating with SK Rent-a-car and Macarong Factory.