Hyundai has announced Charge myHyundai, which as the name suggests, is a universal charging plan to make charging an EV or PHEV simpler.

The announcement comes as Kia also announced its own system - KiaCharge - and unsurprisingly, both are underpinned by Digital Charging Solutions GmbH, so there are similarities between these systems.

The idea is that rather than signing up to a whole host of different services, each requiring a different app, card or payment process, you can signup for Charge myHyundai instead. That will give access via one app and an RFID card for those that require a tap to charge, with one monthly bill, rather than having to fight with different payments for each provider.

That gives you access to over 15,000 charging points in the UK - according the Hyundai - and over 200,000 charging points across Europe. For those who want to drive on the continent, that will take the pain out of using charging points across different European countries.

The supported services on the map include, but are not limited to: BP Pulse (formerly Chargemaster and Polar), Source London, Pod Point, ChargePoint, Ionity. While Hyundai hasn't specified the services included, we'd imagine the agreement covers the same networks as KiaCharge.

There's just a single Flex tariff on Charge myHyundai, with a £1.99 activation fee. You're then charged a connection fee of 49p per charge, and then the rate per kWh for the provider.

On top of the plan, there's also the option for a BP Pulse bolt-on. This will give you reduced charging rates on the BP Pulse network (to match its normal subscription prices). Hyundai hasn't mentioned the price, but we imagine it's £7.85, the same as a regular BP Pulse subscription, but again with the advantage of having this benefit integrated into Charge myHyundai.

If you find yourself using BP Pulse a lot (which might be the case around some areas of London, for example) then it makes sense.

Hyundai takes things a little further, saying that Charge myHyundai will be integrated into the head unit of future electric cars, to help you find somewhere to charge your car. Electric cars do already have mapping that covered charging stations, but hopefully this will lead to a better integrated system and a better experience overall.

Of course, unlike Tesla's Supercharger network, these are all public charging services that can be used by any EV or PHEV, so in theory there's nothing to stop you using Charge myHyundai regardless of the type of EV you're driving; equally, you could opt for KiaCharge instead.

The service is now live and you can find out more at chargemyhyundai.com.