- Volvo is adding Plug & Charge functionality to the EX30, EX40 and EC40 EVs.
- The feature will be a factory upgrade for new models built for the European market.
- The EX40 and EC40 are also getting a new infotainment system.
Tesla EV owners have always had the convenience of simply plugging into a Supercharger and watching as the charging session begins automatically. No messing around with credit cards or unresponsive screens on the DC fast chargers. As long as a payment method is associated with the car, everything just works.
But it’s not just Tesla drivers who can use this feature, as more and more legacy automakers are integrating it into their EVs. It’s called Plug & Charge and now it’s finally coming to Volvo’s most popular battery-powered cars.
The Volvo EX40, EC40 (formerly known as the XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge) and EX30 are the Swedish automaker’s best-selling EVs and they’re in line to get the convenience feature. At first, Plug & Charge will be available on the 2026 model year versions in Europe. Hopefully, American customers will also benefit from it, but Volvo didn’t say anything about the feature’s availability stateside.
Furthermore, Plug & Charge will only be fitted to new cars as a factory upgrade–EVs already on the road are stuck without it. That’s a bummer, and it goes to show that traditional carmakers still have some work to do on the software side to keep customers of older cars happier for longer by sending new features via over-the-air updates.
Besides Plug & Charge, the EX40 and EC40 will also get the company’s latest-generation infotainment system. It includes a redesigned and snappier user interface, as well as a new Qualcomm Snapdragon processor that’s faster than the outgoing system. In fact, Volvo’s entire portfolio of vehicles will get the new infotainment system for the European 2026 model year.
Photo by: Volvo
Volvo EX40 with the Volvo Car UX (2025)
While the new hardware will only be installed from the factory on new cars, the updated software will also make its way to 2.5 million Volvos that are already on the road. According to the Swedish automaker, cars manufactured as early as 2020 with Google built-in will get the new Volvo Car UX later this year via an over-the-air update, including the XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge.
The new infotainment system–software and hardware–debuted on the entry-level EX30 and top-tier EX90 EVs.
