One App, 20,000 Plugs: Volvo Folds Tesla's Superchargers Into Its Ecosystem

© A. Krivonosov

Volvo is widening access to Tesla's fast chargers for its electric cars. Starting in the fourth quarter of this year, owners of the EX30, EX40, EC40, EX60, EX90 and ES90 will be able to charge at more than 20,000 Tesla Supercharger stations across Europe through the Volvo app.

Access will open in 29 countries, including Germany, France, Norway, the UK, Sweden, Italy and Spain. For drivers, this removes one of the biggest headaches of long-distance EV travel: no more hunting for compatible stations, juggling different apps or wondering whether payment will go through. Volvo already bundles more than 1.2 million charging points in Europe and over 3 million worldwide into its app, but the Tesla network matters precisely for its fast stations and brand recognition.

In North America, electric Volvo drivers can already use 120,000 charging points through the app, Superchargers included. Asia is next: by 2029 Volvo plans to move selected models in Japan and South Korea to the NACS/SAE J3400 standard, eventually opening up the Tesla network to them as well.

Alejandro Castro Pérez, Head of Energy Solutions at Volvo Cars, framed the approach this way: “Our goal is to make charging simple and effortless, through a seamless ecosystem.” In effect, Volvo is selling not just range, but less anxiety around charging.

For an electric car, a convenient network sometimes matters more than a few extra kilometres on the spec sheet.