Today, as part of its quest to have no serious injury or death in its new cars by 2020, Volvo again furthered its commitment to advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous drive (AD) with the creation of a new joint venture with automotive supplier Autoliv.
The new company will develop both ADAS and fully self-driving systems in order to be used in Volvo’s cars and sold to other automakers through Autoliv’s distribution partners.
The yet unnamed startup will be based in Gothenburg, Sweden – both Volvo and Autoliv are primarily based in Sweden – and it will start by employing a workforce of ~200 taken from both companies.
Volvo put its managing director of Volvo Switzerland and formerly vice president vehicle line 90, Dennis Nobelius, in charge of the new company.
In a press release, Volvo describes the startup:
“The joint venture will create a new entrant in the growing global market for autonomous driving software systems. It marks the first time a leading premium car maker has joined forces with a tier one supplier to develop new ADAS and AD technologies.”
You might think that the Mobileye, Intel and BMW partnership earlier this year was the first of its kind and not this Volvo and Autoliv deal, but Mobileye is actually considered to be operating as a Tier 2 supplier.
Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars, said about the announcement:
“By combining our know how and resources we will create a world leader in AD software development. This means we can introduce this exciting technology to our customers faster.”
Autoliv’s CEO, Jan Carlson, added:
“There are no two companies that can claim to have done more for automotive safety worldwide than Autoliv and Volvo. This new company is a recognition of the fact that autonomous driving is the next step to transform road safety.”
They plan for the new joint venture to start operations in the beginning of 2017.
In addition to the partnership with Autoliv, Volvo and Uber recently confirmed a $300 million partnership to develop the self-driving technology.
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