Volvo to open tech hub in Stockholm

MANILA: Volvo Cars is looking to further expand its footprint in its home country — by establishing a tech hub in Stockholm, Sweden. The tech hub which will employ over 700 software engineers, data scientists and analysts, product managers, online business executives, and user experience designers.

The tech hub will be an extension of Volvo Cars' current downtown Stockholm site, and it will draw on the company's established expertise in online sales and software product development, both of which are key focus areas for the company as it continues to evolve. Volvo's strong growth will be supported by the development, as will its mid-decade goals of selling at least half of its cars online and creating at least half of its software in-house.

Volvo Cars plans to recruit hundreds of additional team members from around the world to its tech hub. Stockholm has a worldwide appeal to the global tech scene being the home of many globally successful billion-dollar tech firms.

In a statement, Volvo Cars Corporate Functions Head Hanna Fager said, “People with the right competence and values make the difference for our ambitions, and that’s why we’re establishing our new tech hub in Stockholm. Stockholm is a hot spot for tech talents, and we want to create an innovative, creative and collaborative workplace to attract people from around the world. The process has already started and we’re currently looking for new team members who can help drive our company forward.”

Volvo's shift to online sales is essential to the company's goal of becoming a market leader in the fast-growing premium electric segment, with millions of direct customer relationships. Having a simple and straightforward procedure for purchasing a Volvo vehicle, with transparent pricing, detailed product information, and clarity on delivery timeframes, is part of the focus on online sales and direct relationships.

“Beyond making our cars safer through technology and more sustainable through electrification, we want to fundamentally change car ownership to be more personal through a world-leading consumer experience. That’s why we are investing in product and tech, and expanding in Stockholm to access the wealth of talent in everything from product management to software engineering and user experience,” Volvo Cars Chief Product Officer Henrik Green stated.

Volvo Cars is bringing its software development in-house in order to meet its online goals and because software, rather than traditional automotive features, is gradually defining cars. The company is also integrating computing within its fully electric cars into a sophisticated core system in order to make the greatest software-defined vehicles and to actually benefit from developing software in-house. This will allow Volvo Cars to keep updating customer cars with new software and features through over-the-air updates, making them better over time.

The tech hub workspace will be refurbished and upgraded later this year, and it will also serve as the headquarters for the company's operations in the Stockholm region.

Photos from Volvo Cars

Also read: Volvo conducts wireless EV charging trial in Sweden