Volvo, Google partner for next generation connected cars

The large catalogue of popular Android apps - developed by Google, Volvo, or third party app developers - will offer connected and predictive services in and around the car.

Says Henrik Green, senior vice president research and development at Volvo Car Group: "We are making an important strategic step with the Google partnership. Google's platform and services will enhance the user experience by enabling more personalisation possibilities, while Android will offer increased flexibility from a development perspective."

Ongoing convergence

The partnership reflects the ongoing convergence between the automotive and technology industries as cars become increasingly connected. Volvo believes smart partnerships are the future for the car industry. Using Android as the base operating system will increase speed and flexibility in the development and offer its customers the ability to personalise the connected in-car experience.

Says Patrick Brady, vice president of Android Engineering at Google: "This partnership gives us the opportunity to deliver a more seamless experience to Volvo drivers through a full-featured infotainment platform and rich ecosystem of Android applications and Google services."

Volvo is also collaborating with Google on another initiative to update recent Volvo models by adding Google Local Search, a location based service application. This will soon be released through an update to customers with Sensus Navigation.

Further details on the partnership and Android OS will be announced at Google's annual tech show, Google I/O on 17 May 2017.