Hooked on hybrids

Everything you need to know about driving hybrid cars

Tove avatar
Written by Tove
Updated over a week ago

Driving our Hybrids on electric is an important step towards healthier cities and cleaner air, but it doesn’t stop there. At Volvo On Demand, we believe that by sharing cars we can take back the space, time, and money that privately owned cars take up in our cities and our lives. So thanks for sharing!

  • Always remember to charge the car when you finish your reservation

  • Our hybrids shift automatically between the battery and combustion engine

  • Our algorithms will give you a hybrid when it's the best option for your reservation

Starting and driving

Why can’t I book a Hybrid in the app?

Well, in short it is so more people can drive our hybrids using electricity. Under the hood Volvo On Demand is powered by smart algorithms that understand our hybrids are most efficient when used for shorter trips and have enough time to charge between bookings. So a hybrid is automatically assigned to you when we think your trip can be done on electricity and we know the car is charged and ready to go.

How do I unplug the charging cable?

  1. Unlock the car

  2. Unplug the cable from the car. The cable has a time lock. If it's locked, you can lock and unlock the car again to unplug.

What should I do with the charging cable?

Some cables are fixed to the stations. If it's fixed, unplug it from the car and leave it at the station. If you can unplug it from the station, you need to bring the cable with you, place it in the trunk of the car.

What should I do if the charging cable is missing?

Contact Customer Care, or report it in the damage log.

When should I drive on battery vs. fuel?

The car is designed so you won't have to think about when you use the electric motor and when you use the internal combustion engine. It's all automatic. Note that the car is silent when you start and drive on battery.

What functions are good to know about?

In the meny on the main screen, if you swipe left on the right side of the screen, you can find these functions:

Hold button - Saves the electricity for later.

Charge button - Charges the battery using the internal combustion engine.

Predictive Efficiency function - Helps you drive as efficiently as possible. To use it, set your route in the car's navigation system in the HYBRID driving mode. The car then automatically changes between engine types during the journey.

What happens if the battery runs out?

Before the battery runs out, the car automatically starts running on the combustion engine. You don't need to do anything.

Ending a reservation

What should I think about when ending a hybrid reservation?

Always make sure the car is charging before ending your reservation.

Push the charging lid for it to open.

If the car is not charging, the app will prompt you to charge the car. If you for some reason can’t charge the car, tap the “Having trouble charging” and let us know why. After this you can end your reservation.

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