SK Rent-a-Car Launches Electric Vehicle Specialized Package 'EV Link'

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] SK Rent-a-Car announced on the 15th that it will launch an electric vehicle (EV) specialized service package called ‘EV Link’ for customers using long-term EV rentals.

The newly launched EV Link was designed to provide a more convenient and economical mobility life to the growing number of EV users in line with the popularization of electric vehicles.

With just EV Link, customers can access essential EV operation services such as ▲charging ▲parking ▲car wash ▲maintenance. Any customer who newly signs a long-term EV rental contract with SK Rent-a-Car after September can use the service by registering on the EV Link app. Convenience is enhanced by allowing easy login through SK Rent-a-Car’s vehicle management app ‘Smart Care’ or SNS accounts.

First, EV Link’s charging service is convenient as one dedicated charging card can be used to access the nationwide charging networks of five EV charging operators (CPOs): Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), Ministry of Environment, Everon, Chargebee, and Korea Electric Vehicle Charging Service. Going beyond the unlimited charging product ‘EV All-in-One’ introduced by SK Rent-a-Car in 2020, which was limited to KEPCO and Ministry of Environment’s fast chargers, EV Link expands the usage to private companies’ slow chargers, enhancing versatility. The EV Link app also makes it easy to locate charging stations and provides charging pattern analysis reports to improve convenience.

Most notably, both slow and fast charging are offered at a single price of 249 KRW per 1kWh. This eliminates the hassle customers previously faced of having to check different rate tables depending on charging time, region, and season.

Fast charging, in particular, boasts a reasonable price. Typically, public fast charging over 100kW by KEPCO costs 347.2 KRW per 1kWh in the market, but charging through EV Link is about 30% cheaper. For example, if a Hyundai Ioniq 5 Standard model with an energy efficiency of 5.1 km/kWh is fast charged via EV Link (based on KEPCO 100kW) and driven 20,000 km annually, the customer can save approximately 400,000 KRW per year on charging fees compared to market prices.

EV Link provides four 2,000 KRW discount coupons for TMAP parking. Since EVs often charge while parked, this was prepared considering that using paid parking lots adds parking fees on top of charging costs.

Additionally, eight free coupons for automatic car washes at SK Energy Muffin locations nationwide are provided. Unlike internal combustion engine vehicles, EVs do not refuel, so customers often have to pay the full amount for automatic car washes at gas stations, and this benefit helps reduce the car wash cost burden.

Furthermore, EV Link offers an annual on-site maintenance service where EV specialist technicians visit the customer’s desired location and date.

SK Rent-a-Car stated, “We launched this service by thoroughly analyzing EV usage patterns and gathering only the essential elements for EV operation to resolve customer inconveniences,” adding, “We will continue to upgrade the service by expanding partnerships with various companies in the mobility industry and analyzing EV Link usage data to segment customer needs.”

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