New Delhi: Volvo Cars on Friday opened a new, state-of-the-art software testing centre in Gothenburg, Sweden, to expand its capacity for integrated software testing at all levels with an initial investment of around SEK 300 million (USD 27.4 million).
“This software testing centre is the new flagship in our network of engineering centres and Tech Hubs around the world. We also operate software test centres in Lund, Sweden and Shanghai, China, but our new Gothenburg facility is by far the largest in terms of size and capacity. We’re going to need that capacity, because, as our EX90 flagship demonstrates, the automotive industry is rapidly changing,” the company said in a media release.
The Volvo car of the future is fully electric, increasingly sold online, powered by cutting edge core computers running inhouse developed software and constantly improves over time thanks to regular over the air software updates. That makes inhouse software development and testing key to achieving its strategic ambitions, which include being an industry leader in new technology and a fully electric car company by 2030, the release added.
“This is a state-of-the-art facility that will be the hub for Volvo’s global software testing and validation activities. Developers from all our global engineering sites and tech hubs can run software tests here remotely, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I firmly believe that with this new testing centre, we’ve set a new benchmark for the automotive industry,” Anders Bell, global head of R&D, Volvo Cars, said.
The new software testing facility will initially employ around 100 people, a figure that is expected to grow to 300 once the testing centre is running at full capacity. Eventually the site will house around 500 testing rigs and digital test environments, up from almost 200 right now. The Gothenburg site will work closely together with its other engineering centres around the globe that play a central role in software development. Last month, Volvo established a new Tech Hub in Singapore. It has plans for another software-focused Tech Hub in Krakow, Poland.
“Our growing ranks of software engineers work on a wide variety of exciting challenges. The aim is to boost our innovation speed by developing software for key areas for Volvo Cars – from core safety technology based on our deep understanding of what causes accidents, to our perception and driver assistance algorithms and software for future autonomous driving. Other software engineering challenges include developing our next generation connected features, and supporting all our development work through data analytics,” Alwin Bakkenes, global head of software engineering, said.
