Norwegian charger maker Zaptec and Swedish EV brand Polestar announced on July 13, 2026 a two-year extension of their home-charging partnership, first signed in 2024. Under the renewed deal, Zaptec's hardware continues to be offered to Polestar buyers at a reduced upfront cost as part of the car purchase, and the companies are expanding the offer into the Baltics and into markets outside Europe. Zaptec CEO Kurt Ostrem said Polestar owners "expect the driving experience to be matched by the charging experience"; Polestar's Olivier Loedel called the partnership "an important enabler" for a smart, high-quality home charging setup. The two also plan to keep collaborating on bidirectional charging and vehicle-to-grid solutions.
Bundling a specific charger with a car purchase is convenient, but it also ties the buyer to one hardware brand and, by extension, whatever backend that brand runs behind it. Plugchoice's free CSMS and OCPP proxy work with any OCPP charger, Zaptec included, so a bundled charger does not have to mean a locked-in platform: the driver keeps the hardware, and the choice of who manages it.
Sources: Polestar, Zaptec, EV Infrastructure News.