You’ve probably heard by now, but Ford has an all-electric Mustang out there in the wild. The Mustang Mach-E is a solid option for EV lovers, and now it’s getting a bit more feature rich. Well, if you’re an Apple Maps and CarPlay user, too, that is.
A lot of people are buying electric vehicles these days, which makes it even more important that you can find an electric charging station. And one way to do that is by using Apple Maps (or other options, of course). But back in 2020 Apple wanted to make it even easier to plan out your trip, because that, too, is a pretty important element of the electric car owning experience.
So, EV routing was added to Apple Maps, and, when used with CarPlay, could make it much easier for a driver to find their next charging location. Especially if the energy in their battery is starting to wind down. This is a feature that can help with that dreaded “range anxiety.”
The bad news is that the Mustang Mach-E didn’t support EV routing in Apple Maps before today. The good news is that changed today, at least in part. Apparently the feature went live for some Mustang Mach-E models out there in the wild alongside the public launch of iOS 15.4, which went live earlier this week.
Ford launched a support document on the feature (via 9to5Mac), and here’s how the car manufacturer broke it down:
The Apple Maps EV Routing feature creates a route to your preferred destination including an EV charging station along the way. It is activated through Apple CarPlay®*, and only available for Mustang Mach-E owners that meet the following criteria:
- 2022 Model Year (MY)
- 2021 MY with the following SYNC®** software versions (see Checking Your SYNC 4A Software Version):
- 21281_PRODUCT.244
- 22028_PRODUCT.358
- 22034_PRODUCT.364
- A minimum iOS version of 15.4
With this feature, and when you’re using Apple Maps along with CarPlay, the mapping software will show you things like the current range of your Mustang Mach-E, while factoring in things like the current weather conditions and even elevation.
Resource: How to set up and use Apple Maps electric vehicle routing on iPhone
It’s a handy feature, and better late than never. However, there’s a catch:
Notes:
- 2021 Mustang Mach-Es with different software versions will receive this feature later in 2022 through a Ford Power-Up update.
- The SYNC system must have a minimum of Ford Power-Up update version 2.3.0. See Viewing Ford Power-Up Software Updates.
And Ford says that it hopes it will get all Mustang Mach-E models out there in the wild updated to support EV routing in Apple Maps and CarPlay by the end of 2022.