Fleet drivers purchasing a Volvo plug-in hybrid car can benefit from a year’s free electricity under a new offer intended to encourage drivers to plug in.

The offer is available to both retail and business/company car customers

Announced as controversy continues over drivers’ misuse of PHEVs, the offer – also open to private customers – is focused on improving driver behaviour and charging habits, and is available across the full range of seven Volvo plug-in hybrid cars purchased from now until 30 June 2020.

Importantly, the one year’s electricity consumption for each car will be calculated from May 2020 via the Volvo On Call app – which logs how much power the car consumes, and also allows the owner to monitor the charge status of their car’s battery via their mobile device. So drivers will be reimbursed for actual energy used.

And the reimbursement will be made at the end of the 12-month period, based on the average price of electricity in the UK and paid directly to company car drivers rather than their employer, to cut out the ‘middle man’.

Kristian Elvefors, Volvo Car UK managing director, said: “It’s crucial that we help our plug-in hybrid customers understand how they can make the most of their car’s electric potential. So, by meeting their electricity charging costs for a year, we can encourage them to develop the good habit of regularly recharging their car’s battery, as well as saving them money at the same time.”

The free electricity initiative is just one element of Volvo’s plans to achieve a substantial reduction in the lifecycle carbon footprint of all its new cars. The company recently announced its intention to achieve a cut of 40% between 2018 and 2025, a key step towards its goal of becoming a climate-neutral business by 2040. Its adoption of electrified powertrains – from next year it will introduce new Recharge branding for its growing line-up of plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles – will bring down overall tailpipe emissions by 50% by 2025.

Volvo is also working to reduce the environmental impact of its manufacturing, supply chain, logistics and other operations, targeting a 25% reduction by 2025.