Official APIs from Tesla, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen Group make smart charging more secure, reliable, and trustworthy. The EV smart charging world is full of apps that promise to save you money by charging your car at the cheapest hours. Most of them—even Gridio in its early days—started by reverse-engineering car apps to control charging. That made sense in the beginning. But smart charging has grown too important to rely on workarounds. Today, we’re proud to say that Gridio now works with the official APIs of major car manufacturers—including Tesla, BMW Group (BMW & MINI), Mercedes-Benz, and the VW Group.

Here are five reasons why official integrations matter.

How to know if you are using unofficial connectivity to smart charge?

Most car companies allow EV drivers to manage their smart charging provider in their app, web portal, or car interface. For Tesla, make sure your smart charging provider appears on your Tesla.com account and you have the Tesla Public Key set up. For BMW & MINI, check your connected provider at https://ocapi.aws.bmw.cloud/. For Mercedes-Benz, see if your provider is listed on your Mercedes-Benz web account.

✅ 1. Reliability: Built by the carmakers, not hacked together

Reverse-engineered solutions mimic what the car apps do—but they weren’t built for smart charging. Official APIs are. They’re designed by the carmakers themselves to support energy services like ours. That means charging commands go through reliably, battery state and temperature are respected, and no more failures from random app updates. Gridio now talks to your car the way the manufacturer intended—no shortcuts.

🔐 2. Security: You control access, not a third-party login

With unofficial integrations, users often had to share their car login details—a security risk. Thanks to official APIs, you connect your car to Gridio via secure OAuth login. You can see and manage this connection directly from your carmaker’s portal. Want to revoke access? Limit permissions? You’re in full control—no shared passwords, no hidden access.

🤝 3. Real Support: Issues go to the carmakers, not a workaround Slack channel

When APIs were unofficial, fixes depended on guesswork. Now, as an official partner of leading car brands, Gridio has direct technical support. We know when API changes are coming, and we solve issues with the carmakers. That means better uptime, faster fixes, and a more reliable experience for drivers.

💸 4. Proven Savings: Because performance builds trust

Smart charging isn’t just about tech—it’s about trusting the system to save you money effortlessly. Gridio finds the cheapest and cleanest charging hours based on your local energy prices, and with official APIs, those savings are delivered more reliably than ever. Most drivers save up to 50% on charging costs automatically—no manual timers or price checks. Real savings, backed by official reliability.

⚡ 5. Stability and Future-Proofing

Unofficial connections can break whenever a car app changes or updates its code. Official APIs, by contrast, are maintained and updated jointly with the carmakers—meaning Gridio stays stable as vehicles evolve. That’s long-term confidence for drivers, and future-proof smart charging for the next generation of EVs.

👉 Want to try it?

If you’re an EV driver looking for a secure, reliable, and officially supported smart charging experience—Gridio’s got you.

→ EV driver? Connect your car and start saving from by downloading our app here.

→ Business with EV customers? Reach out to receive a demo how you can offer smart charging to your customers.