Volvo Cars promotes the adoption of its electric cars to be made easier and more convenient for its users to charge vehicles and pay for the EV charging. This is suggested to be integrated by a variety of charging functions and payment schemes in its Volvo mobile app.
As Volvo moves towards its company goal of becoming a 100% electric car maker by 2030, Volvo has the ambition of making the planned mobile app an easy to use and ‘one-stop shop’ for its drivers.
Head of Electrification Ecosystem at Volvo Cars, Olivier Loedel states: “Many of us are familiar with the frustration of having to navigate multiple apps and carrying multiple cards for different charging operators, our goal was to make life easier for our customers and remove one of the major barriers for customers to switch to an electric car. With the Volvo Cars app, we will create one digital charging platform.”
Users of Volvo’s electric cars will be able to use the Volvo Cars App
Through the Volvo Cars app, the company claims users of all-electric Volvos can find thousands of public charging stations from around the globe with a selection to a wide range of charging operators, all whilst getting real-time information on the payments and availability of their desired charging sessions. Ultimately Volvo wants to make it an easy service to access and charge Volvo’s electric vehicles.
Volvo Cars state to prioritise their customers needs in line with their company goals in a sustainable way. This is reflected in the businesses ambition to become a 100% electric car maker by 2030, as well as its commitments towards the reduction of Volvo’s carbon footprint and becoming a climate-neutral company by 2040. The concept of the new app is an attempt to promote the production of Volvo’s fully electrified cars and to try and make the total ownership experience for its customers as convenient as possible.
In Europe, Volvo have optimised the app so that drivers can choose from over 270,000 different charging points. They are able to promote this following the integration of Plugsurfing, a network of electric car charging stations across Europe, into the Volvo Car app.
Volvo integrates with China’s leading charging point operators
Volvo promotes the service of easier charging and payment in China, where Volvo has recently signed agreements and integration with the country’s leading charging point operators: Star Charge, State Grid, TELD. Together, these charging point operators supposedly cover 75% of all public charging stations in China. The integration with Volvo means customers can have access to the majority of the charging stations made available throughout the country, through one app. In China, the app will allow customers to find a charging station, start the charge via scanning a QR code, and then upon completion, pay for the service via the Volvo Cars app through China’s payment services.
It is quite apparent that Volvo would like to implement the service that is currently prioritised in China, to all countries around the globe that market the company's electric cars. Continuing with the strategic partnering with local partners from different regions around the world and the constant improvements made to the Volvo Cars app, Volvo can be on their way to a successful outreach of consumers and positively impact the customers' ownership and charging experience of electric Volvo’s.