As well as unveiling a partnership with Qualcomm to supply the Snapdragon Cockpit platform for its next infotainment system, Volvo used CES 2022 in Las Vegas, USA, to strengthen its relationship with Google, becoming the first car manufacturer to introduce direct integration with the Google Home ecosystem.
Alongside this development, which will allow customers to control their Volvo using voice commands through Google Assistant, the Swedish manufacturer also announced that YouTube will shortly become available in every car fitted with its Android infotainment system.
For Volvo, this marks the start of a shift that will turn the car into something akin to an extension of the living room. It forms part of a broader revolution that will require fundamental changes across the automotive industry.
To understand how these developments will affect the lives of Volvo customers and, to some extent, establish where the industry is heading, we spoke exclusively in Portugal with Thomas Stovicek, Volvo Cars’ Head of User Experience (UX), and David Holecek, the Swedish brand’s Director of Digital Experience.
Future infotainment with just two screens
When it announced its Qualcomm partnership, Volvo promised to take infotainment in its future cars to the “next level”. We will see this first in the brand’s upcoming all-electric SUV and in the Polestar 3, both due to be unveiled later this year.
Until then, the Swedish marque has already offered a preview of its next-generation infotainment system which, perhaps unsurprisingly, will retain a vertical central display alongside a smaller horizontal screen that functions as the instrument panel.
I say “perhaps unsurprisingly” because, over the past year, we have seen the emergence of a trend that has begun to view the front passenger differently, giving them their own display which only they can control. The Mercedes-Benz EQS is just one example.
Volvo is well aware of this approach and, as Thomas Stovicek explained, it is “definitely something that is being considered”. However, he was keen to clarify the brand’s current stance: “We believe that in this version of our vision, the central screen is large enough and visible to everyone in the car. But it is something we will continue to pay attention to.”
The value of technology partnerships
While the new Qualcomm-powered infotainment system remains a future prospect, the Google Home, Google Assistant and YouTube features are much closer. They will soon benefit a large number of Volvo drivers.
For Volvo, there is no doubt that its partnership with Google is a significant advantage, reflected in the product ultimately delivered to customers. It also enables the company to concentrate on other priorities.
“We are taking advantage of that expertise and bringing it to our customers, enabling all these possibilities within the car. And we, as a car manufacturer, can focus on things such as creating the best possible product experience for our customers,” he added.
Even though Google provides the underlying technology, it must always be tailored to Volvo’s requirements and customer profile: “I think we have done a good job of creating distinct usability. The partners we work with have enabled us to create the right level of customisation for the elements we want to customise. We have been able to design a system for our customers that can address their everyday problems and what they want to see,” Volvo Cars’ UX chief told us.
Is artificial intelligence the future?
“We want to give the car some intelligence. But this is one of those things that will improve and grow over time. It is definitely part of our vision to enable the system to give users some kind of contextual knowledge, based on how they use the car and what they do when using it,” said Thomas Stovicek.
The central aim will always be to strike a balance that improves and simplifies the driver experience: “we are trying to understand, for the future, which areas need to remain more manual and, on the other hand, where we can use artificial intelligence or predictive technology to make solutions simpler for people,” Stovicek said.
However, so-called “predictive technology” will, in a sense, already be available to Volvo drivers through the latest Google features. Google Assistant can identify habits and interpret usage patterns over time.
“What Google brings to the table in this partnership is greater knowledge of users, their daily lives and their everyday behaviour, through Google Assistant and all its other Artificial Intelligence capabilities. Google is much better at this than we could ever be, not least because it is not our field of work,” David Holecek pointed out.
YouTube now, other platforms later?
The ability to access YouTube through the infotainment system in every Volvo equipped with the Android operating system was, naturally, one of the brand’s biggest announcements.
From now on, watching YouTube videos while waiting for someone or during a charging stop will become possible.
Other streaming platforms will also be offered in the future. As Volvo’s Director of Digital Experience explained, this is an “open framework so that any video service provider can make a few small changes and adaptations, ensuring that it works well in the car environment and can then be published in the Google Play Store”.
“Although YouTube is the launch partner for this, it is not a one-off thing created with YouTube; it will open the ecosystem to a new category of services developed by third parties,” he added.
Unlimited data with a digital SIM card
Through a package called “Digital Services”, which generally provides four complimentary years when purchasing a new Volvo, all connected Google services can be used without limits because mobile data is unlimited. At the end of that period, the service - consisting of a digital SIM card - can be extended by paying for a subscription.
“We are working with some of the world’s largest mobile network operators to address this on a regional basis, across an entire fleet of cars, rather than creating separate subscriptions for each car,” David Holecek explained.
“That alone allows us to secure much better data rates, of course, while also balancing data consumption. That is how we can offer something where you can genuinely listen to as much music as you want, watch as much video as you wish, and so on. All data is included,” he added.
Where is the automotive industry heading?
With Volvo cars able to receive remote updates without having to physically visit a dealership, and platforms such as Google Android Automotive allowing Volvo to continue pursuing new and improved features, one question was unavoidable: can we expect cars to last longer in the future because they will be continually updated?
“We have to move towards an evolving experience, where the car gets better with every passing day, where we always have new updates and additions throughout the car’s lifecycle, which means it will keep getting better. In the same way that a smartphone or tablet does,” he said, before pointing the finger at the automotive industry.
“The automotive industry has not been good at this. We put all our focus on launching the car, and that is basically what the customer receives. Now, with the strength of our partners, we can move into this new era, this new world of experiences where customers expect something that evolves over time,” he explained.
“The electronics industry and the entire communications and infotainment systems sector do not stand still. What was true when the car was designed several years ago may no longer be true today. This is a fundamental change that we are very happy to be part of,” he said, before concluding: “knowing that the car will always be up to date removes some anxiety for people. Rather than thinking that the car will simply keep getting older.”
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