Volvo Cars, owned by Geely, plans to open a new technology center in Krakow, Poland’s second largest city.
Volvo said it will be a key software development center and play a crucial role in the company’s strategic ambitions to be an all-electric brand by 2030 and a leader in new technologies, particularly through in-house software development.
The technology center will have full responsibility for developing comprehensive and key features of our new all-electric cars, which are central to our purpose as a brand.
Krakow engineers will join Volvo’s global pool of talent to develop software for key areas for Volvo Cars, from core safety technology to driver perception and assistance algorithms and software for autonomous driving.
Other engineering challenges include next-generation connected features and supporting development work through data analytics.
Volvo plans to have its new technology center operational by the end of this year, with around 120 jobs. By the middle of the decade, the company aims to employ 500 to 600 people in Krakow, complementing and closely linked to core engineering centers in China and Sweden.
Volvo says the car industry is changing rapidly and “our next all-electric cars will be software defined”.
The company notes that the Volvo car of the future will be all-electric, increasingly sold online, run on cutting-edge core computers with in-house developed software, and improve over time through regular over-the-air (OTA) software. updates
“We are a purpose-driven, technology-driven company, so our new generation of Volvo cars will be more than just transportation,” said Jim Rowan, CEO of Volvo Cars. “They will be computers on wheels, designed to be updated over the air with new software. This means that our technology center in Krakow and the growth of our in-house software development capabilities are key to our future success.”
Krakow is an emerging technology hub, with an extensive network of technology companies in the region. It also has a large telecommunications sector, an industry which Volvo says has “been a rich source of recruitment elsewhere where we have engineering centres”.
