Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com | LinkedIn | Twitter
Swedish automaker Volvo announced Monday a new over-the-air (OTA) software update for all of its cars with Google built-in, with the addition of Apple CarPlay being the most anticipated by customers. The new update will be available in 14 new markets and Volvo expects it to be deployed in more than 200,000 vehicles.
Volvo has been offering OTA updates since early 2021 aiming to “make ownership easier and more flexible,” the company said.
“Through over-the-air updates, we can make sure that our customers can enjoy new features quickly and easily,” said Sanela Ibrovic, Head of Connected Experience at Volvo. “It also means that a new Volvo car is no longer at its finest as it rolls off the factory floor, but keeps improving as we launch additional updates.”
In the last OTA software update last April, the automaker announced that all new Volvo car models are able to receive software updates, “meaning that the company is making important progress towards its ambition of making its customers’ cars better over time”.
BE THE FIRST ONE TO GET THE NEWS
Volvo CEO Jim Rowan said recently in an interview to Automotive News Europe, that the automaker is “tottally focused on battery-electric vehicles” while seeing a strong demand, specifically in Europe.
Less than a month after Stellantis Group announced the departure from ACEA, also Volvo informed it will leave the European Automobile Manufacturers Association by the year end. The automaker Volvo said its sustainability strategy and ambitions “are not fully aligned with ACEA’s positioning and way of working at this stage.”
The announcement was made at a time when ACEA failed in its lobbying efforts to push back the European Union’s intention to phase out cars with internal combustion engines.
In June, the automaker delivered 49,904 vehicles — down 26.9 per cent from 2021 — with the sales of recharge models (BEV + PHEV) in Europe accounting for 33.8 per during the month. The company said that 25.1 percent of the sales in the U.S. were Recharge models (PHEVs and EVs) and in California, the recharge market share reached 75 per cent.
Recently, the automaker announced that will build its third European plant in Kosice, Slovakia. The construction of the $1.25B factory is planned to start in 2023, with equipment and production lines installed during 2024 and the series production in 2026. The facility is designed to produce up to 250,000 cars per year and allows for further expansion of the plant in the future, the automaker said.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com | LinkedIn | Twitter
