Volvo appears to have come a long way from the coding troubles that have defined recent vehicle launches. By Stewart Burnett
Volvo has apparently overcome its recent problems with coding and software development, and is now seeking partners to license its new centralised software stack. The Geely-owned Swedish automaker will offer the “superset” system to the market, potentially creating new revenue streams as Western automakers increasingly ditch their in-house development efforts.
Chief Engineering and Technology officer Anders Bell confirmed the partnership push to Bloomberg. “I am very open to collaborations in this area. The phones are on and the mailboxes are active,” Bell said. “It’s a very interesting example of collaboration that may be unconventional, but it’s completely in line with where I believe the development will go.”
Bell also noted that automakers have shown a growing willingness to collaborate with other industry players on software development: “You can see carmakers that made big software bets, then went back and adjusted or found a collaboration.” The most notable example in this vein is of course Volkswagen, which invested in a US$5.8bn joint venture with Rivian in 2024 after persistent issues with its Cariad software unit. Ford has also abandoned projects targeting centralised architectures.
However, geopolitics will restrict the degree of partnerships with non-Chinese entities; a consequence of Volvo’s ownership by Geely. At the time of writing, US regulators are scrutinising how Chinese ownership intersects with data and cybersecurity rules, with proposed 2027 restrictions potentially banning all vehicles containing Chinese-backed software. “Technically, we could open up our entire stack to the whole world,” Bell said. “But legally, we cannot.”
Volvo suffered brutal setbacks during its EX90 flagship SUV launch in late 2024. Among other things, customers reported digital keys failing repeatedly, blank infotainment screens, vehicles losing power on motorways, and non-functioning air conditioning. Promised features including Apple CarPlay and advanced driver assistance remained conspicuously absent months after delivery.
Bell previously apologised for the software problems during a September event at Volvo’s South Carolina factory. “Unfortunately, we have disappointed many customers,” Bell told InsideEVs. “I’m going to say sorry to the customers who have lost trust in our products.” The executive, who spent six years at Tesla before rejoining Volvo in 2022, blamed reliance on domain-based systems stitching together code from dozens of suppliers instead of a single unified software platform.
Bell expressed confidence to Bloomberg that the mid-size EX60—set to debut in January—will avoid these problems. He also likened Volvo’s transition to Apple developing iOS across successive iPhone generations: “The bugs we solved once for the EX90 are already solved for the EX60.” Volvo is also offering its SPA3 platform to partners, with sister brand Polestar already using the architecture and other Geely-owned brands potentially set to follow.
