We’re on the lookout for new technologies that could be key for a new future that is all-electric, autonomous and connected; and that’s exactly what our Tech Fund is set out to do. Founded in 2018, the Tech Fund is our own venture capital arm and seeks to invest in high potential start-ups around the globe. “We aim to be the fastest transformer in our industry and the Tech Fund plays a crucial role in establishing partnerships with future technology leaders,” said Alexander Petrofski, head of the Volvo Cars Tech Fund.
Every investment is directly connected to our overall strategy, just like the recent ones in carwow, Bcomp and Storedot.
Carwow is one of Europe’s biggest websites for online car sales. The fact that they’re a leader in this area is exactly the reason why we’ve made a strategic equity investment. Carwow does online car sales very, very well and is a major force in the UK, Germany and Spain. By working together with carwow, we can gain valuable new insights in areas such as online sales, customer acquisition and how people in general behave when shopping online.
Those insights will help us as we increasingly shift towards online sales and direct customer relationships ourselves. This is one of our key strategic focus areas, and we look to create a simple and hassle-free experience for ordering our products and services.
Another find of our Tech Fund team is Bcomp, a Swiss maker of a lightweight material using natural fibres called flax. Compared to regular plastic parts, flax composites offer significant savings in terms of weight, energy use and emissions versus regular plastic parts. We used flax composites in our Concept Recharge and we’re actively looking at incorporating them in future car models as well.
