Behind-the-scenes of our journey to an all-electric future

You can think of our presence at the show as a behind-the-scenes glance into our journey to an all-electric, software-defined future.

At EVS, we brought our story to life through our booth, presentations and activities. Now, we’re excited to share it with you in this article. Because there are some big things happening at Volvo Cars.

We’re in the middle of a technological transformation that’s helping us move beyond products defined by combustion engines and towards cars defined by software and energy.

The future is electric
Let’s start with electrification. Our fully electric cars provide a smoother, quieter ride, but they offer far more than a new and efficient powertrain. They represent a crucial step toward a more sustainable society and meaningful action on climate change, and can improve quality of life by providing cleaner, safer and more efficient mobility.

Electric cars are also ready for a bi-directional charging future, where your car not only draws power from the grid but can also send energy back to it. With this technology, you will be able to store energy from renewable sources when it’s abundant and return when it’s needed, helping balance the grid and cut emissions.

Our most powerful cars yet
Thanks to the power of software, we can make even better and safer cars, while continuously enhancing their performance through over-the-air updates.

The software-defined Volvo is powered by our Superset tech stack, a modular engineering platform that all future Volvos are built on. Think of it like a big box of building blocks that can be configured in many ways. Some are large, like the car architecture or electronic systems. Others are smaller, like specific software features, AI applications or mechanical components. 

The Superset tech stack is built on a foundation of immense computing power. The core compute system, which acts as the brain of our software-defined cars, sports a dual NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Orin configuration. This setup can handle many trillions of operations per second, making our latest cars the most powerful yet in terms of core computing capacity.

Besides speeding up various essential systems and processes in your car, this computing power allows us to implement new, more powerful features over time. Whether it’s an upgrade that extends the battery range, enables faster charging, delivers world-first audio experiences, or implements improved safety features, we can make sure these new features and upgrades reach your car quickly and efficiently thanks to over-the-air updates.

Software is replacing hardware as the key to innovation
The tech stack also lets us create cars globally but adapted for regional audiences. This gives us a powerful edge, allowing us to tailor features, interfaces and even driving experiences to regional tastes – all via software, not hardware.

This flexibility means a single car platform can be adjusted to feel local in Tokyo, trendy in Berlin and family-friendly in Houston, all without having to make changes in our production of the car.

Software is a real game changer for us and for our customers, allowing us to adapt in a fast-moving world where the only constant is change. In fact, we’re one of the largest software companies in the Nordics – something that that may come as a surprise to many.

Already on the road
This offers a glimpse of what the all-electric, software-defined Volvo of the future looks like, with our fully electric flagship SUV, the Volvo EX90, leading the way, and the Volvo ES90 recently following suit.

Both are built on the Superset tech stack and powered by a core compute architecture developed in partnership with NVIDIA. Designed to evolve, these cars will continue to improve over time through software updates, delivering smarter, safer and more personalised driving experiences.

At our EVS booth, we also showcased a range of other forward-thinking innovations:

• A mini village to demonstrate the functionality of bi-directional charging
• A safety zone describing how we use AI and virtual worlds to improve safety
• A fleet of wirelessly charging XC40s located just outside of the venue
• An innovative smart cell innovation that offers a glimpse into what a future Gen 4 electric vehicle architecture could look like – if we completely reimagine the way things have always been done

* Electric Vehicle Symposium & Exhibition