Autocharge in EV Charging: How Plug-In-and-Go Works

Autocharge in EV Charging: How Plug-In-and-Go Works

A guide for charge point operators, eMSPs, fleets and OEMs.

Autocharge is a way to start an EV charging session without an app, an RFID card or a QR code. The driver plugs in, the charger reads an identifier the vehicle sends during the DC charging handshake, and the session starts automatically against the driver's or fleet's account.

It is the simplest charging experience available today. Autocharge is very different from Plug & Charge, it is not a security standard, and it only works across networks if the roaming layer underneath is built for it. This guide covers how Autocharge works, where it fits in India, what it gets wrong, and what operators need in place before switching it on.

How Does Autocharge Work?

Every DC fast charging session over CCS2 begins with a short digital conversation between the vehicle and the charger, carried over power-line communication. During that handshake, the vehicle shares a hardware identifier called the EVCCID, usually its MAC address. Autocharge simply reuses that identifier as a login.

A typical Autocharge session runs in five steps:

1. Enroll once
   The driver or fleet links the vehicle to an account, usually by completing one normal session through an app so the vehicle's identifier can be captured and registered.
2. Plug in
   At the next DC charger, the driver connects the CCS2 connector. Nothing else is required.
3. Identify
   The charger reads the vehicle's EVCCID during the handshake and passes it to the operator's back office over OCPP, in place of an RFID tag.
4. Authorize
   The operator checks the identifier against its own list, or, if the vehicle belongs to another provider, asks that provider in real time over OCPI.
5. Charge and bill
   The session starts, and the energy is billed to the linked account, exactly as if the driver had tapped a card.

Where Did Autocharge Come From?

Autocharge was developed by Dutch fast charging network Fastned with charger maker ABB, starting in 2016. Fastned rolled it out to customers in October 2017, and in the first year nearly 150,000 sessions started without a card or app. It spread because it needed nothing new: no extra hardware in the car, no certificates, and no changes to the charging standard. Any CCS charger that could read the vehicle's identifier and any back office that could treat it as a token could support it.

India is now at a similar point. Most new electric cars use CCS2, DC fast charging is growing, and the market is experimenting with ways to remove the app from the charging experience, from QR-and-UPI app-free charging launched by ChargeJet in July 2026 to camera-based number plate recognition piloted by Quench in 2025. Autocharge sits in the same category, but it is built on the charging connection itself.

Why Autocharge Matters for Your Business

Autocharge changes different things for each part of the EV charging value chain:

Charge Point Operators (CPOs): Fewer failed starts at the charger, shorter time from plug-in to power, and fewer support calls about apps and cards. Returning drivers are recognized the moment they connect.

e-Mobility Service Providers (eMSPs): A frictionless experience that keeps drivers loyal to your account, even when they charge on another operator's network.

Fleets: Autocharge bills by vehicle, not by driver. For fleets with shift drivers, shared vehicles or night-time charging.

OEMs: A “plug in and it just works” experience from day one, without waiting for full Plug & Charge support across the charging network.

What Are the Limits of Autocharge?

Autocharge trades security for simplicity. Before switching it on, operators should understand exactly what they are accepting:

It identifies the vehicle, not the person: Anyone who plugs in the vehicle can charge on its account. That suits fleets, but it is a risk for shared or resold private cars unless the account is updated.

The identifier is not a secret: A MAC address is a hardware identifier, not a password. It can be captured from charging communications, and it is not guaranteed to be unique across every vehicle.

It cannot be reissued: A compromised RFID card can be cancelled and replaced. A compromised vehicle identifier cannot, because it is built into the car.

DC CCS2 only: Autocharge relies on the digital handshake used in DC fast charging. Most AC charging, which dominates home and workplace charging in India, does not carry it.

Personal data obligations: A persistent vehicle identifier linked to an account is personal data. Under India's Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, enrollment needs clear consent and a way for users to unlink their vehicle.

Roaming is not automatic: Autocharge works out of the box only on the network where the vehicle was enrolled. On any other network, the identifier means nothing unless it has been shared as a token through roaming.

How to Make Autocharge Work Across Networks: A Checklist

For Autocharge to work beyond a single network, CPOs and eMSPs each need a few things in place:

For CPOs

Capture and normalize the vehicle identifier from the charger and map it to an OCPI token UID in your back office.

Support real-time authorisation, so an unknown vehicle can be checked against the eMSP that issued it.

Accept token whitelists from partners, so enrolled vehicles can still charge when connectivity is poor.

Record sessions and CDRs against the correct eMSP, so billing and settlement follow the vehicle's account.

For eMSPs and fleets

Run a consented enrollment flow that links each vehicle identifier to an account and lets users unlink it.

Issue each enrolled vehicle as a token and share it with roaming partners, with a whitelist setting that fits your risk appetite.

Revoke tokens promptly when a vehicle is sold, replaced or removed from a fleet.

How ChargeIndia Helps with Autocharge

For Autocharge, that matters in two ways.

1. Autocharge as a roaming token, today

The ChargeIndia Hub, India's first OCPI hub, already models Autocharge as a standard OCPI token. A CPO maps the vehicle's normalized MAC or EVCCID to a token once, and an eMSP issues its enrolled vehicles as tokens once. From there, the Hub handles the rest across every routed partner:

Real-time authorisation: when an unknown vehicle plugs in, the CPO asks the Hub, and the Hub routes the request to the eMSP that owns the token.

Whitelist sync for offline Autocharge: eMSPs push tokens to the Hub, which fans them out to partner CPOs, so enrolled vehicles can start charging even when the network connection is weak.

Revocation: tokens marked invalid are forwarded too, so a sold or removed vehicle stops charging on every partner network, not just one.

Clean settlement: sessions and CDRs carry the right eMSP identity, so Autocharge sessions bill and settle like any other roaming session.

2. A driver app that knows the vehicle

Autocharge only works on DC CCS2, so drivers still need to know where to go. The ChargeIndia app knows the driver's vehicle and shows which connectors are compatible, displays live availability across networks, plans charging stops on longer trips, and lets drivers start, monitor and stop sessions and pay directly by UPI when Autocharge is not available. Every session, Autocharge or not, appears in one charging history.

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