When I lived in Europe and managed operation of a Tesla Shuttle service there with a couple of other guys, one thing I learned was critical for non-Tesla electric vehicle drivers crossing Europe — and also even for our Tesla Shuttle drivers in some cases — was a Plugsurfing card. Plugsurfing bring many of the various charging networks across Europe into one app and charging card.
In recent years, more roaming agreements have been formed and you have the growing Ionity network, but my impression is that a Plugsurfing account is still a must-have if you intend to leave your region or country. (Consider that with so many different countries in Europe, there’s bound to be a lot of different charging networks as you cross borders.)
Volvo Cars recognized this and just teamed up with Plugsurfing to offer all drivers of Volvo’s fully electric Recharge vehicles access to easy cross-continent charging.
More specifically, this partnership gives Recharge drivers access to 200,000 charging points.
“With the Plugsurfing agreement, Volvo Cars eliminates the most common obstacles for electric car drivers, such as inadequate access to charging points and a highly fragmented European market for charging infrastructure,” Volvo Cars quite accurately states.
Volvo Cars notes that the Plugsurfing platform might provide access to other services — beyond charging — in the future as well. (I’ll take that as a yes.) What these “new and exciting charging-related services” would be is unclear. Dream away.
The infotainment system in a driver’s Recharge model, which is based on Android, can find Plugsurfing-accessible charging station or you can use the Plugsurfing app for that. Furthermore, you can filter stations by charging availability or charging speed. The app also shows charging prices.
Deliveries of the all-wheel-drive Volvo XC40 Recharge P8, Volvo’s first Recharge model, start later this year. The XC40 Recharge P8 has a driving range of over 400 km (250 miles) on a full charge based on the WLTP testing system. Fast charging can deliver up to an 80% charge in as little as 40 minutes.
As we reported years ago, Volvo intends to have 50% of its sales coming from fully electric vehicles by 2025, making it one of the most aggressive legacy automakers in that regard. 14% of Volvo’s sales came from plug-in vehicles (including plug-in hybrids) in the first 4 months of this year, up from 7% in 2019.
Note that Volvo Cars also just partnered with Waymo, clearly hoping that it will provide a solid path forward for increasing autonomy.
Related stories on Plugsurfing:
- Fortum Charge & Drive’s Brilliant Plugsurfing Acquisition — CleanTechnica Exclusive
- Plugsurfing — CleanTechnica Interview
- EV Revolution Bubbling In Central & Eastern Europe — Cleantech Revolution Tour
Related stories regarding Volvo Cars:
- Volvo Opens Preorders As The Fully Electric XC40 Recharge Nears Production
- Volvo Signs 10-Year Battery Deal With CATL & LG Chem
- Volvo Projects Profit Margin On Electric Cars Will Be Equal To Conventional Cars By 2025
All images courtesy Volvo Car Group.
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