Volvo Cars will established up a joint venture to speed up its advancement of a new, scalable infotainment platform that can be shared with sister manufacturers these types of as Polestar and Geely Auto as effectively as third parties.
The automaker will associate with Chinese know-how business ECARX, which was co-started in 2016 by Volvo-proprietor Li Shufu. ECARX at present develops and integrates Android-based mostly infotainment programs in China for Volvo’s sister manufacturers Geely Auto, Lynk & CO and Proton.
The venture’s other aims contain increasing charge performance, building new revenue streams as effectively as luring talented software package executives.
Just one of Volvo Main Technological know-how Officer Henrik Green’s long-time period aims is to flip the automaker’s R&D arm into a software package advancement business.
“This is unquestionably a cornerstone in our strategic transformation to strengthen our vertical integration to become a software package business,” Environmentally friendly informed Automotive Information Europe in an job interview. This will be Volvo’s reply to Volkswagen Group’s Car.Computer software.Org, which employs about five,000 and develops the VW.OS running process.
The formation of the new, as-however-unnamed business is nevertheless subject to remaining negotiations amongst Volvo and ECARX. Volvo will have a 60 percent stake while ECARX will command the rest.
Barring any delays, the companions will start out functions at the new company’s headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, in the third quarter, with a team of about 100 individuals.
That complete will contain about 70 Android, Linux and UNX software package developers who will transfer from Volvo, reported Jan-Erik Larsson, a longtime Volvo govt who has been tapped to be main govt of the new business.