Daimler Truck and Volvo Group form alliance for software-defined trucks
Daimler Truck and the Volvo Group (together with Traton) are already joint partners in the Milence truck charging joint venture. In May of this year, the two companies also announced their intention to jointly develop a software-defined vehicle platform and a dedicated truck operating system. Both are intended to form the basis for future software-defined commercial vehicles. To this end, both sides want to establish the aforementioned 50:50 joint venture based in Gothenburg and aim to make it a leading developer of standardised hardware and software.
The explicit aim of both truck manufacturers is to set the industry standard for a truck operating system and to offer the joint venture’s products to other commercial vehicle manufacturers. To this end, the joint venture will provide a joint developer platform on which its customers can develop their own software applications. As two major players in the industry, the two truck manufacturers aim to define industry standards. The duo emphasises that they will continue to compete in all other business areas.
In addition to formally setting the course for the establishment of the joint venture, Daimler Truck and the Volvo Group also go into more detail about future activities in their new announcement. The joint company will be responsible for the specification and procurement of centralised high-performance control units for commercial vehicles that can process large amounts of data. The new company will also develop an operating system and programming tools on which vehicle manufacturers can develop their own digital vehicle features. According to the duo, this should decouple software and hardware development cycles in the future and enable customers to purchase and update digital applications wirelessly ‘over the air’.
“The signing demonstrates our joint commitment to lead the digital transformation of our industry,” said Karin Rådström, CEO of Daimler Truck. “The software and hardware from this joint venture will be crucial for achieving unprecedented levels of safety, comfort, and efficiency for our customers.”
“We are joining forces to redefine software architecture and pioneer a new era of self-optimizing trucks,” added Martin Lundstedt, President and CEO of the Volvo Group. “Together we are removing complexity to allow our customers to unlock higher levels of connectivity, safety and efficiency and continually push for a greater performance. It is a revolutionary response to the challenges of our modern world, and we are proud to be setting the industry standard.”
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