Volvo have revealed one of their biggest investments to date: a new, state-of-the-art software testing centre in Gothenburg, Sweden. At around 22,000 square meters and with an initial investment of around SEK 300 million (£22,000,000), the new software testing centre is the flagship in the company’s network of global engineering centres and tech hubs. It joins software test centres in Lund, Sweden, and Shanghai, China. The Gothenburg facility is by far the largest in terms of size and capacity.
“This is a state-of-the-art facility that will be the hub for our global software testing and validation activities,” said Anders Bell, our Global Head of R&D, Volvo. “Developers from all our global engineering sites and Tech Hubs can run software tests here remotely, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I firmly believe that with this new testing centre, we’ve set a new benchmark for the automotive industry.”
The new software testing facility will initially employ around 100 people, a figure that is expected to grow to 300 once the testing centre is running at full capacity. Eventually the site will house around 500 testing rigs and digital test environments, up from almost 200 right now.
“Our growing ranks of software engineers work on a wide variety of exciting challenges,” said Alwin Bakkenes, Global Head of Software Engineering, Volvo. “The aim is to boost our innovation speed by developing software for key areas for Volvo Cars – from core safety technology based on our deep understanding of what causes accidents, to our perception and driver-assistance algorithms and software for future autonomous driving.”
