Smart Electric Vehicles

Discover the Best Electric Vehicle Ecosystems for Your Smart Home.

Integrating your electric vehicle with Homey unlocks a world of convenience and energy efficiency. You can monitor battery levels, view charging status, and track your vehicle’s location. Homey can also schedule charging, preheat your EV in the mornings or lock and unlock it remotely.

In this guide, we explore how Homey integrates with various EV brands and their connected platforms. By integrating your EV charger or PV system as well, you can further optimize your EV's energy usage.

What to Look for in an EV Ecosystem

EV ecosystems vary widely in features and capabilities, making it essential to prioritize what matters most to you. Whether it’s advanced monitoring, alerts or EV control, focusing on the right aspects ensures an efficient and connected experience:

Monitoring

Look for an ecosystem that offers robust tools to monitor various EV features like battery levels, charging status, range, and vehicle location in real-time.

Control

Evaluate the level of control the platform provides. Look for features such as managing charging schedules, adjusting climate settings, and locking or unlocking your vehicle remotely.

Alerts

Consider the importance of timely alerts for events like low battery, charging interruptions, vehicle movement or maintenance reminders.

EV Charger Compatibility

Ensure the EV and ecosystem support a wide range of EV chargers, especially if you already own one.

Security and Privacy

Prioritize systems that include encrypted communication, strong authentication, and clear options for managing your data privacy.

Brand	Monitoring	Control	Alerts	Price1
Audi myAudi				€55,000
BMW ConnectedDrive				€48,000
Hyundai Bluelink				€40,000
Kia Connect				€35,000
Polestar EVs				€49,000
Skoda Connect				€40,000
Tesla EVs				€43,000
Volkswagen We Connect				€37,000

Audi uses its myAudi platform to deliver smart connectivity across its vehicle lineup. Electric models like the Audi Q4 e-tron, e-tron GT, and Q8 e-tron use the platform for remote monitoring and control.

Integrating your Audi EV with Homey Pro through the myAudi app unlocks some useful features. You can track battery level, oil level, monitor charging status, view current mileage, and get an estimated driving range. Users can also receive notifications when the vehicle arrives or leaves home, when charging starts or stops, or get reminders for service inspections or oil changes.

With Homey, you can also control certain myAudi EV features remotely. You can turn the AC on or off, adjust fan speed, or activate the window heating feature remotely. You can even flash the lights or sound the horn to help locate your car in a parking lot.

It’s worth noting that the official API for myAudi is limited by the VAG group. Some vehicle models or features may not work as expected.

BMW’s ConnectedDrive platform enables smart connectivity for a wide range of vehicles, including electric models like the i4, iX, and i7. Integrating your BMW EV with Homey Pro through the app allows you to monitor and manage your vehicle remotely.

You can lock or unlock the car, adjust climate settings, and locate your vehicle by flashing its lights or sounding the horn. Alerts can notify you when charging starts or stops, the car locks or unlocks, or the AC is running.

For EVs, Homey lets you track battery levels, monitor charging progress, and send custom messages to the vehicle’s dashboard. The geofencing feature provides live updates on your car’s location, enhancing security and convenience.

While ConnectedDrive integrates well with Homey, the polling interval must be set above 5 minutes. BMW limits service calls to their API, which may affect the functionality of certain features.

Hyundai’s Bluelink platform brings advanced connectivity features to its range of EVs. It enables remote access and control for EV models like the IONIQ, KONA and Tucson Plug-in Hybrid.

Once integrated in Homey, users can control features like locking or unlocking the car, controlling the A/C or using the defrosting mode. You can also manage battery charging by setting limits or creating schedules.

Homey also allows you to monitor key vehicle data, including battery levels, charging status, tire pressure, odometer readings, range, speed, and overall vehicle status. You can set up alerts to notify you when the car locks or unlocks, the engine or A/C turns on or off, defrosting starts or stops, or the vehicle moves or parks. A particularly useful feature is the ability to view the estimated time to home (ETTH), letting you know exactly when your spouse is expected to arrive home.

It’s worth noting that excessive use of the Hyundai app can drain the car’s battery if the vehicle is not running. This limitation is set by Hyundai to prevent overuse of their services.

Kia uses a platform similar to Hyundai’s Bluelink, called Kia Connect (or Kia UVO in older models), to deliver smart connectivity for its vehicles. Integration with EVs like the EV6, Kia Niro, and Soul EV enhances vehicle management through monitoring, alerts, and remote controls.

With Homey, users can track key metrics such as battery levels, tire pressure, odometer readings, range, speed, and overall vehicle status. Homey also provides alerts for important events, such as doors left open or unlocked, the vehicle starting to move, or a drained battery.

Like Hyundai, Kia allows users to remotely start the car, lock or unlock doors, adjust the target temperature, and fully manage the A/C. Additional features such as preheating the cabin or activating defrosting when needed are very useful during winter.

However, Kia imposes similar platform limits as Hyundai. Excessive use of their app can drain the car’s battery or even block access to certain services, requiring careful use to avoid these issues.

Polestar, a Swedish automotive brand established in 1996, initially focused on motorsports before evolving into a manufacturer of electric vehicles. Now Polestar manufactures popular EV models like the Polestar 2, Polestar 3, and Polestar 4.

By integrating your Polestar EV with Homey, you can monitor data such as battery levels, charging status, and current power usage. Homey Pro also allows you to set up notifications for events like the car starting or stopping charging, connecting or disconnecting from a charger, and completing trips. However, it's important to note that remote control of vehicle functions is not available at this time – a limitation imposed by Polestar.

The Polestar app also allows you to link your Tibber account without any additional subscription, enabling efficient energy management for your Polestar vehicle. This integration lets users charge during low-price periods and automatically pause charging when prices are high.

Škoda has expanded its lineup to include electric vehicles (EVs) like the Enyaq iV and Elroq SE, as well as plug-in hybrid models such as the Kodiaq iV. These vehicles use the Škoda Connect platform to provide advanced connectivity features.

By integrating your Škoda EV with Homey Pro, you can monitor real-time data about your vehicle’s condition and performance. This includes tracking battery levels, charging status, plug connection, vehicle movement, driven mileage, range, inspection details, oil levels, and outdoor temperature levels.

Homey also allows you to set up notifications for key events, such as when the car starts or stops charging or when the vehicle arrives or leaves home, keeping you updated on your vehicle’s activities.

In addition to monitoring, Homey enables remote control of features like starting or stopping climatisation, ventilation, or window heating, as well as adjusting minimum and maximum charge limits. You can also flash the lights or honk the horn to locate your car in a parking lot.

However, as part of the VAG group, Škoda’s API also has some limitations. This can result in certain features not functioning as expected or being unsupported altogether.

Tesla, the company that revolutionized and popularized the widespread use of electric vehicles, offers a suite of advanced connectivity features through its Tesla App. Each and every Tesla vehicle comes with smart connectivity, allowing users to monitor and control various aspects of their car.

Integrating your Tesla EV with Homey Pro allows you to monitor, receive alerts, and control various aspects of your vehicle. Homey enables tracking of data such as battery levels, vehicle speed, odometer readings, door lock status, tire pressure (TPMS), and even pending software updates.

Remote control features include locking or unlocking doors, flashing headlights, honking the horn, opening the trunk and enabling Sentry Mode. This mode is a security feature in Tesla vehicles designed to monitor their surroundings when parked. Using the vehicle's external cameras and sensors, Tesla cars can detect potential threats.

Since Tesla has transitioned to their new Fleet API, certain features have newly set limits. For example, the ability to wake the car remotely may be unreliable or unavailable in some instances.

Volkswagen, a renowned German automaker, offers electric models like the ID.3, ID.4, and ID.5 among its lineup. These vehicles connect through the We Connect platform, providing advanced features for smarter driving experiences.

Integrating your Volkswagen EV with Homey Pro enables useful monitoring, alerts, and control options. You can track battery levels, charging status, AC status, charging plug connection, mileage, range, oil levels, and outdoor temperature.

Alerts keep you updated on events like charging start or stop, plug disconnects, or when the car arrives or leaves home. Users can also receive notifications for pending service inspections or oil changes. Homey allows you to adjust charge limits and start or stop AC or window heating. You can also trigger actions like flashing the lights or honking the horn to locate your car.

Additionally, users can refresh data or set update intervals, a useful feature in the case of VAG group vehicles. Like Skoda and Audi, the Volkswagen API has certain limits that limit the functionality of third-party connected platforms.