All new Volvo cars get 100GB data SIM for FREE – but only for a year

Volvo has announced it’s fitting a 100gb data SIM to all its new cars to enhance connectivity and safety alerts. But it runs out after a year.

There was a time, which some of us still remember, when if you wanted any sort of ‘communication’ device in the car you had to fork out thousands of pounds – yes, thousands of pounds – for a car telephone which would only be able to make calls. Expensive calls at that.

But things have moved on and we now all have Smartphones which Bluetooth in to the car and allow Apps and much more to work seamlessly on the move.

But much of what we use in the car – Spotify, Waze, Google Maps and much more – rely on data connections, and we don’t all have huge data roaming bundles on our phones.

So to get round that, Volvo has decided that all new cars, and all 2020 model cars already sold, will get a free 100gb data SIM to make sure you’re connected and able to receive useful information like traffic reports and safety stuff too.

The 100gb included does have to last a year though, and when it runs out you’ll have to sign up with Vodafone to keep the data SIM active. Which, although we applaud the move by Volvo, does seem a but mean.

You’d have thought, or we would have, that Volvo would have included the data SIM for the duration of the warranty period. After all, it must be costing pennies (well, maybe £20-30?). And you can’t even pass it on if you sell the car.

Still, best not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and the data SIM will give you what you need when you’re out and about, without using your phone’s data, will probably deliver a better signal, will create a WiFi hotspot in the car for up to eight devices (blimey, how many do you need on the go?) and work in 42 European countries.

And if you’ve already taken delivery of your 2020 model Volvo, Volvo will retrofit the SIM for free too.