Volvo disconnects Russians from its services following BMW, Audi, and Mercedes
Illustrative photo (Freepik)
Volvo has disconnected Russian car owners from its software services following the Kremlin's seizure of a Swedish automaker's plant, according to complaints from Russians on the Volvo Owners Club forum.
Services unavailable to Russians include the ability to remotely warm up their vehicles. Volvo car owners in Russia also cannot check the status of door locks, find the location of their vehicles, or determine fuel levels.
Residents of Russia are no longer able to access the Volvo on Call program and register for it. In addition, Russian car dealerships cannot use the lost key reset function or program new keys to replace lost ones.
Volvo (photo: Wikimedia)
According to an employee at one of the dealerships in Russia, the software disconnection took place at the direction of the leadership of the automaker as part of a sanctions policy.
Who else has disconnected Russians from automotive services?
In August, BMW and Audi disabled access to their software services for Russians (BMW ConnectedDrive and AudiService), causing residents of Russia to lose the ability to create duplicate keys and instead experience problems with diagnosing vehicle components and electronics.
A few months earlier, Mercedes-Benz also disconnected Russians from its software and blocked access to Mercedes me ID.
Additionally, Porsche has also disabled access to the Porsche Connect mobile app for Russian clients, preventing owners of German brand vehicles from remotely managing navigation and infotainment services.
