Volvo focuses on development of autonomous driving technology

- Invests in Zenuity software development company

- The newly formed company will be operational by later this year

Volvo has plans to boost the development of the autonomous driving technology in the coming years. With that in mind, the Scandinavian carmaker has invested in Zenuity, an assisted and autonomous driving software development company. The standalone company will be split into two parts to maximise the potential of Zenuity’s developments to date.

Zenuity is currently a 50-50 joint venture between Volvo Cars and Veoneer. One part of the new company will be focusing on the development and commercialisation of unsupervised autonomous drive software, and will be owned by Volvo Cars. Meanwhile, the second part will focus on the development and commercialisation of advanced driver assistance systems and will be integrated into Veoneer, an automotive safety equipment company based out of Stockholm, Sweden.

Under the joint ownership, Zenuity has developed a strong software platform for advanced driver assistance and autonomous driving systems which both parent companies will continue to build upon and further develop. Volvo’s part of Zenuity will focus on development of unsupervised autonomous drive software that will be introduced in the next generation of cars based on Volvo’s SPA2 vehicle architecture. The new company will remain separate from Volvo Cars and run its own distribution channels.

Volvo plans to have the Zenuity operational by the third quarter of 2020.