Volvo Sets Up New Business to Drive Autonomous Solutions  

The Volvo Group has set up a new subsiiary unit Volvo Autonomous Solutions that will accelerate the development, commercialization and sales of autonomous transport solutions.

This will enable the Volvo Group to meet a growing demand and to offer the best possible solutions to customers in such segments as mining, ports and transport between logistics centers, as a complement to today’s products and services.

With global developments that are characterized by higher demand for transportation, increasingly congested roads and major environmental challenges, the industry needs to provide transport solutions that are safer, have a lower environmental impact and are more efficient.

Autonomous transport solutions, based on self-driving and connectivity technologies are well-suited for applications where there is a need to move large volumes of goods and material on pre-defined routes, in repetitive flows.

In such situations, autonomous transport solutions can create value for customers by contributing to improved flexibility, delivery precision and productivity.

Watch: Volvo Releases Autonomous Trucking Solution

Says Martin Lundstedt, President and CEO of Volvo Group: “We have experienced a significant increase in inquiries from customers. With the Volvo Group’s wide range of offerings and broad experience of different applications, we have a unique opportunity to offer solutions that meet their specific needs.

“It is a logical next step for us to gather expertise and resources in a new business area with profit and loss responsibility to take autonomous transport solutions to the next level.”

The Volvo Group has already demonstrated a number of different autonomous transport solutions.

In the Electric Site project, material handling in a quarry was automated and electrified. The result was a safer working environment and a reduction of operator costs by 40% and of carbon dioxide emissions by 98%.

At the Brønnøy Kalk mine in Norway, autonomous Volvo FH trucks will be used in commercial operation to transport limestone along a five-kilometer stretch.

Another pioneering initiative is the self-driving, connected and electric vehicle Vera. In its first assignment Vera will form part of an integrated solution to transport goods from a logistics center to a port terminal in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Volvo Autonomous Solutions will constitute a new business area as of January 1, 2020. Its financial results will be reported as part of the Truck segment. The recruitment process for the position as Head of Volvo Autonomous Solutions has commenced.

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