The Swedish company reported that it had disabled the Volvo On Call mobile service (Volvo Cars application) for Russians, dealers lost access to the TIE technical data exchange platform, and service centers lost access to the VIDA system, which was used to diagnose the condition of cars and update their software. The official Russian Volvo website is still working, but with a note that the cars are not available for order and are not being delivered.
Volvo Cars explains the decision to disable online services in Russia by the need to comply with the imposed EU sanctions. Moreover, the restrictions will apply to all cars sold on Russian territory, even if the owner turns to service in another country. At the same time, the company did not answer whether this measure constitutes a refusal to provide warranty service to customers.
Volvo dealers have already complained that they cannot reprogram car keys. However, this only applies to new machines: there are no problems with old ones that do not require an Internet connection. Apparently, services will have to look for alternative ways to solve problems, as is the case with other manufacturers – for example, BMW and Audi.
In addition to them, access to service departments of Volkswagen, Skoda, Porsche, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, Kia, Infiniti, Nissan and others was limited in Russia.
At the end of September it became known that Volvo had left Russia without the right to repurchase its assets. Thus, the local Volvo business will remain with the Russian investor, even if the Swedish company wants to return. It includes the former Volvo Trucks plant in Kaluga, which should resume operations by the end of the year, and in 2024 it will reach its design capacity of 15 thousand vehicles per year.
Chinese miracle: unusual new items from China
