Volvo EX60: first impressions of Europe's only "true" software-defined vehicle

The new Volvo EX60 is Europe’s first “true” software-defined vehicle, the firm's engineering chief Anders Bell has told Autocar. 

Volvo revealed its new electric SUV in January, and first deliveries are due in September. The model’s advanced specification will be a key advantage in the market against rivals such as the new BMW iX3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC, say its creators. 

Unlike any previous Volvo, the EX60 incorporates battery packs, electric motors, unique software and the new “uncompromised” SPA3 platform that are all made in-house. Its launch is also closely linked to the opening of a £250 million software development centre near Volvo’s home city of Gothenburg. 

“We believe we have made the first true software-defined vehicle,” Bell told Autocar at an exclusive event last week, when journalists got to experience the car on the road for the first time (see below). Bell said it was a “massively pivotal launch that begins a new era for the company”, adding: “At the moment the car world is divided into those who have gone through the pain of this big change, and those that have still to begin or are in the process. I think we are safely through it now.”

Explaining why Volvo believes software is so important for this and future models, Bell (pictured below) said that to stay competitive cars would need to progress as quickly as the software itself, rather than by industrial timetables, while utilising core architectures that allowed advances to be rapidly incorporated. 

“In previous, domain-based cars, systems like lighting, steering, braking were all controlled by ECUs [electronic control units] that came to us from suppliers,” he said. “It’s a bit of a simplification, but in essence our job was to make all those black boxes communicate with one another without any hitches.” 

According to Bell, every time you wanted to add a new function, you had to add new ECUs and lots of cross-wiring, which increased complexity and weight and took up space. “What we now have is a much more efficient open network with its software centralised. As we add functionality, we can integrate [additional features] into the car much more easily.” 

He added that this approach saves “kilometres of wiring and bucketloads of ECUs”. The result, he said, is an EX60 with D-segment exterior dimensions but the cabin space of an old-style E-segment model. 

Bell said software-defined cars can take steps, large or small, whenever the maker wishes. He promises “a very exciting roadmap” for improving the EX60’s functions and capabilities – but he sees technology advancing so fast that even he can’t predict exactly what cars will be offering in six or eight years’ time.