Autoliv Inc. and Volvo Cars have signed a letter of intent to form a new jointly owned company to develop next generation autonomous driving software.
The new company will have its headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, and will have an initial workforce taken from both companies of around 200 employees, increasing to more than 600 in the medium term. The company is expected to start operations in early 2017.
Once finalized, the joint venture will be a new entrant in the growing global market for autonomous driving software systems. The two companies say this joint venture will mark the first time a leading premium carmaker has joined forces with a tier 1 supplier to develop new advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving (AD) technologies.
The new company, which has yet to be named, will develop ADAS and AD systems for use in Volvo cars and for sale exclusively by Autoliv to all carmakers globally, with revenues shared by both companies.
Autoliv, a leading global supplier of safety systems to carmakers worldwide, has led the way in the development and introduction of active and passive safety technologies to the world’s carmakers for more than 60 years, according to the company.
Volvo Cars has an established reputation for making some of the world’s safest cars, having invented the three point safety belt and consistently developed and introduced leading active and passive safety systems. Volvo says it has a medium-term vision that no one will be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo by 2020.
Jan Carlson, chairman, CEO and president of Autoliv, said, “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.”
Håkan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo Car Group, added, “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.”
Both Autoliv and Volvo Cars will provide intellectual property for their ADAS systems to the joint venture. From this base, the company will develop new ADAS technologies and AD systems. The new company is expected to have its first ADAS products available for sale by 2019 with AD technologies available by 2021.
Autoliv will be the exclusive supplier and distribution channel for all the new company’s products toward third parties, except Volvo Cars, which will source directly from the new company. Its management will be comprised of representatives from Autoliv and Volvo Cars. Dennis Nobelius, managing director of Volvo Switzerland and formerly vice president vehicle line 90 at Volvo, will be the CEO of the new joint venture.
