Gothenburg, Sweden - Volvo is developing a range of ‘self-filling’ cars that would never need to visit a petrol station.
When the tank is close to empty, the car would send a message via smartphone to a mobile fuel supplier to come and top it up.
The supplier would have a secure one-off code to open the fuel cap, freeing the owner to park the vehicle and be elsewhere.
Volvo never officially talks about innovations and simply said ‘maybe’ when asked about the fuel idea.
However Volvo’s head of technology, Klas Bendrik, said: “The widespread use of smartphones is unlocking new potential in what you can do connecting a car with a customer.”
Bendrik said Volvo had already tested a system where drivers can choose to have a parcel delivered by a courier firm to their car rather than to their homes. It would be particularly useful at workplaces that do not allow employees to receive personal deliveries, he said.
‘REGAIN 30 MINUTES OF YOUR LIFE’
Some Volvo cars already allow their drivers to activate de-icers remotely from the comfort of their home. And the same cars can be made to sound their hooter and flash their lights to help owners locate them in car parks.
Volvo chief executive Håkan Samuelsson is also working on a project to develop self-driving cars.
“It would be a bit like an aircraft,” he said. “For complicated manoeuvres such as take-off and landing the driver would be in control.
“But for long boring passages you could have automation and sit back, relax, read emails, and regain 30 minutes of your life you could use to spend with your family.”
Daily Mail