PlugShare rolls out version 8.0 with dark mode and a rebuilt iOS app

What the iOS update changes

PlugShare describes version 8.0 as a near-total rebuild built on Apple's latest design language. Tab switching is now instant, users can open and zoom into location photos straight from the thumbnails, and trip views show exact distances from the starting point and from the previous stop.

The Apple Watch app now lets drivers find nearby chargers from the wrist, and it automatically applies the same filters set in the phone app so only compatible chargers appear. Tapping a location on the watch shows its Plug Score, charging network, connector types and a small preview map, and the charger list refreshes each time the wrist is raised with the app open. The iPad app has also been rebuilt to adapt its layout to the tablet's screen size.

Corey Davis, PlugShare's Senior Director of Software, said the update was shaped by the app's users: "PlugShare has always been shaped by the drivers who use it, and we remain community-driven 15 years after our first app launch". Dark mode had been requested by the community for years before this release.

Android owners wait until 2027

The timing makes the update an Apple-first release. Android users get a refreshed experience eventually, but the dark mode and Material 3 redesign they were promised will not arrive until early 2027, according to the company.

That gap matters for a service whose usefulness depends on how many drivers contribute. PlugShare's map is kept current partly by its community: some charging networks manage their own locations and accept payment through the app, while in other cases drivers themselves keep entries up to date. A more polished app on one platform is a modest incentive for the other half of the user base to keep checking in.

A 15-year-old map under EVgo ownership

PlugShare claims to be the world's largest community of EV drivers contributing real-time check-ins, reviews and photos, and says the service debuted in 2009. Beyond the free driver-facing map, it has added tools for charging operators and car manufacturers over the years.

Recargo, the company behind PlugShare, was acquired by EVgo for $25 million in 2021. Anyone can create an account and use the app to find chargers across operators.

For drivers, the practical value of this release sits in the small things: a watch that mirrors your car's compatible connectors without reaching for a phone, and trip screens that count distance between stops. Neither changes which chargers exist, but both cut the fiddling that comes before a charge.

Mercedes-Benz chairman Ola Källenius says the company's petrol and diesel engines have at least another decade of production ahead of them, setting a timeline that runs well past 2030. Speaking at a media roundtable in Pune, India, he put the minimum life of the combustion engine at 10 years and the likely figure at 15.

He framed the move to electric cars as a 20 to 25-year industrial shift rather than something completed by 2030 or 2035, and tied the survival of combustion models to continued customer demand.

What Källenius said about the combustion timeline

According to Autocar India's account of the roundtable, Källenius said: "The combustion engine, it will be around for minimum 10, probably 15 years more". He was equally direct about the condition attached to that runway, saying the engines stay as long as there is meaningful demand for what he called high-tech, electrified internal combustion.

That phrasing matters. Mercedes is not positioning its combustion engines as a placeholder until electric cars take over. They are being sold as electrified products in their own right, which is how the company squares a long combustion horizon with its electric plans.

EU-7 ready engines and the V8

Mercedes is investing in its combustion lineup ahead of the Euro 7 emissions standard, with a range of engines the company describes as EU-7 ready rather than already certified under the new rules. The newest V8 remains in production for select high-end models, sitting alongside plug-in hybrids and full electric cars.

The V12 also continues for select applications as electric models expand through 2027. For buyers weighing a large-engined Mercedes, that means the decision is not being forced by the calendar alone.

Diesel stays for high-mileage drivers

Källenius named light commercial vehicles and larger passenger models as the places diesel still makes the most sense, saying the company's diesel portfolio is ready for the future and that the fuel will stay in the portfolio for the foreseeable future.

The strongest case is for drivers covering 60,000 to 70,000 kilometres a year, roughly 37,000 to 43,000 miles. That is the band where diesel's efficiency advantage over petrol or hybrid power still pays off. In India, Källenius noted that diesel's lower pump price gives high-mileage customers a further reason to stay with it.

The catch for private buyers is that this argument is built around annual distance. Below that mileage band, the maths favours petrol, hybrid or electric depending on charging access, which is why Mercedes is keeping all of them in the plan rather than narrowing to one.

A 40-model programme across electric and combustion

Mercedes is running a 40-model programme over three years spanning electric and combustion vehicles, according to Autocar India, with new models arriving through 2026 and 2027 and mixing petrol, diesel and battery power across the lineup.

Electrification remains in the product plan. Mercedes intends to offer an electric alternative across every meaningful model position by the end of the decade, and Källenius expects electric cars to take a bigger share of the brand's Indian sales next year.

The sources do not break the 40-model programme down model by model, so which specific nameplates get petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid or battery power has not been detailed. Mercedes has also not announced Australian model timing or pricing from this roundtable, so local buyers should treat the 2026 and 2027 arrival window as a global product plan rather than a confirmed showroom schedule.

What it means for buyers planning their next car

For high-mileage drivers and fleet operators, the practical read is that diesel and efficient petrol engines are not disappearing overnight. At annual use near the 37,000-mile mark, lower fuel burn can still outweigh the higher purchase price compared with a similar petrol model.

Electric cars gain ground fastest where charging is dense and grids are cleaner, since lower running costs can offset a higher purchase price over several years. Where charging is scarce or long-distance highway use dominates, the 10 to 15-year horizon gives buyers room to plan around combustion and plug-in hybrids for at least one more ownership cycle.

The strategy is unusual in how openly it is built on customer demand rather than a fixed end date. That gives Mercedes room to keep volume models on sale where electric demand lags, while still committing to an electric option in every meaningful segment by 2030.