The JuiceBox EV chargers will lose all their connectivity features.
The Home JuiceBox chargers will no longer have an app.
Enel X Way North America, which owns the JuiceBox electric vehicle charger brand, has decided to close its electric vehicle business in the United States and Canada. Starting October 11, the company will discontinue its connectivity services for both commercial and residential hardware. In a statement published on its website, they announced that all customer support lines will be suspended immediately.
JuiceBox charger users will experience a loss of connectivity with the app, although the device will continue to function and charge the electric vehicle, albeit without access to the app’s features. Additionally, Enel will remove the Enel X Way app, which currently has a rating of 2.7 stars on the App Store. This app allowed users to monitor charging status and history, set charging schedules, assess energy usage, and restrict access to the charger for certain users. The app was also essential for the company’s commercial charging stations, which will stop operating as they require external software for their functionality.
Soon, JuiceBox charger owners will no longer be able to control energy usage or charging sessions, among other features that the app provided.
The former owner of JuiceBox, eMotorWerks, was acquired by Enel in 2017, and chargers under the JuiceBox brand were offered through various automakers, gaining popularity among early electric vehicle adopters.
According to Enel Group, which also owns its U.S. subsidiary Enel X Way USA, this decision is considered "strategic" and the company will focus on developing infrastructure for electric vehicles in countries where it already operates an electricity retail business. Additionally, it has noted that the dynamics of the electric vehicle market in the United States have changed significantly in the past year. Enel X Way North America has been affected by rising interest rates, which have made the scalability of the charging infrastructure business more expensive in a context of uncertainty, where growth expectations in electric vehicle sales have not been met.
The management of the company during this withdrawal process is being handled by an external firm, and its products and services outside of the United States and Canada will not be affected.