Yahoo Finance Next-Gen Volvo XC90 To Offer Level 4 Autonomy (and Be Built in America)
The all-new Volvo S60 won’t be the only vehicle Volvo will build at its new South Carolina production facility. The Swedish luxury brand will also use the factory to build the third-generation XC90, slated to begin production in 2021. It will be the first Volvo model to utilize SPA2, the second generation of the brand’s Scalable Product Architecture (SPA).
While Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson and senior vice president of research and development Henrik Green remained tight-lipped about the technical developments of the SPA 2 platform, the two executives did share other details about the new XC90. Of note, Volvo will offer an all-electric variant.
The emissions-free powertrain is just one of the next XC90’s technological innovations, though: the Volvo crossover also will offer Level 4 autonomy. The optional feature, which Volvo calls Highway Pilot, will allow the XC90 to drive itself on certain stretches of road without any need for driver assistance. The system uses an embedded lidar system, among other things, enabling the vehicle to view its surroundings. Highway Pilot won’t work on just any stretch of road, though-the system will work only on routes that have been mapped for its use.
Despite its promise, Highway Pilot may not be offered in the United States, as federal and state regulations could prevent Volvo from selling the self-driving system to consumers. Still, both Samuelsson and Green seemed excited by the technology’s prospects, and the company has a few years to get regulatory approval in the U.S.
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