Click for more.
Volvo Cars (VOLCAR-B.STO)* said today is launching its largest over-the-air software update ever, as it rolls out what’s claimed to be a new, more intuitive user experience to millions of customers starting this week. Approximately 2.5 million Volvo cars in 85 countries will receive the new Volvo Car UX. [see footnote 1 below.]
“This update is one of the largest over-the-air updates in automotive history, leveraging years of investment in Volvo Cars’ tech stack to improve life with their cars for millions of people,” says Anders Bell, chief engineering and technology officer at Chinese-owned Volvo Cars. “Our new user experience delivers significant updates and improvement in areas most used by drivers, and directly addresses the needs and desires of our customers.”**
“The new layout also includes easier, more prominent navigation and a refreshed, more modern look, with many upgrades grounded in real-world research and feedback from customers. In other words, it’s simply better,” Volvo claimed.
“As one of the most comprehensive infotainment updates by any car maker to date, the new user experience creates a contemporary and consistent design philosophy across all Volvo car models. This means a customer with a three-year-old XC40 benefits from the same approach as an EX90 owner, for example.
“The content on the screen represents the biggest change, with the most common apps and controls, such as maps, media and phone, presented on the home screen. This means for example that customers who are following navigation directions and want to change the music, no longer have to leave Google Maps to access the media feature.
“Then there is the contextual bar, which changes what drivers see according to the situation and displays the most recently used apps. When driving at low speeds, the icon for outside cameras appears so drivers can get help maneuvering in tight spaces.
“For plug-in hybrid drivers, the new user experience makes it easier for drivers to get the most out of their electric powertrain. Via ‘Drive Modes’ on the home screen, drivers can easily access ‘Pure’ mode alongside other options. That means switching from hybrid to electric-only power is now only one tap away, giving drivers more control.
At the same time as the updates above, Volvo Cars will also start to roll out the opportunity for all customers with Google built-in or its equivalent in China and South Korea, but without its Pilot Assist driver assistance feature, to purchase and download the feature to their car.
The update also prepares cars for an optimal conversational AI experience with Google Gemini, which is set to come to the same eligible cars later this spring.
Inevitable Volvo Car UX Footnotes
1: Including C40, XC40, EX40, EC40, S60, V60, V60 Cross Country, XC60, S90, V90, V90 Cross Country and XC90 with Android operating system. Over-the-air installation of regular software updates are provided at no charge as long as cars have been updated with the latest software updates on a regular basis, and customers have an active data connection. Otherwise customers may need to visit an authorized Volvo Cars service center to be able to receive software updates, which may incur a fee.
- Over-the-air update availability will vary by market and model year
- Google, Google Play, Google Gemini and Google Maps are trademarks of Google LLC.
*AutoInformed on
**Volvo Cars is a subsidiary of Geely Holding (GEELY.UL), which owns ~78.7% of the company’s outstanding shares. Geely Holding, a Chinese multinational enterprise, bought Volvo from Ford Motor in 2010 after years of cultural clashes between American Ford and Swedish Volvo employees and senior managers. During 2025, Volvo Cars on average had 42,600 full-time employees. Volvo Cars’ head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Cars’ production plants are located in Gothenburg, Ghent (Belgium), South Carolina (US), Chengdu, Daqing and Taizhou (China). The company also has R&D and design centers in Gothenburg and Shanghai (China). In 2025, Volvo Cars sold more than 710,000 cars, with an electrified share of 46%.Volvo Cars on average employed 42,600 full-time employees. – AutoCrat.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Volvo Cars – 2.5 Million Software Upgrades Are Now Free
Click for more.
Volvo Cars (VOLCAR-B.STO)* said today is launching its largest over-the-air software update ever, as it rolls out what’s claimed to be a new, more intuitive user experience to millions of customers starting this week. Approximately 2.5 million Volvo cars in 85 countries will receive the new Volvo Car UX. [see footnote 1 below.]
“This update is one of the largest over-the-air updates in automotive history, leveraging years of investment in Volvo Cars’ tech stack to improve life with their cars for millions of people,” says Anders Bell, chief engineering and technology officer at Chinese-owned Volvo Cars. “Our new user experience delivers significant updates and improvement in areas most used by drivers, and directly addresses the needs and desires of our customers.”**
“The new layout also includes easier, more prominent navigation and a refreshed, more modern look, with many upgrades grounded in real-world research and feedback from customers. In other words, it’s simply better,” Volvo claimed.
“As one of the most comprehensive infotainment updates by any car maker to date, the new user experience creates a contemporary and consistent design philosophy across all Volvo car models. This means a customer with a three-year-old XC40 benefits from the same approach as an EX90 owner, for example.
“The content on the screen represents the biggest change, with the most common apps and controls, such as maps, media and phone, presented on the home screen. This means for example that customers who are following navigation directions and want to change the music, no longer have to leave Google Maps to access the media feature.
“Then there is the contextual bar, which changes what drivers see according to the situation and displays the most recently used apps. When driving at low speeds, the icon for outside cameras appears so drivers can get help maneuvering in tight spaces.
“For plug-in hybrid drivers, the new user experience makes it easier for drivers to get the most out of their electric powertrain. Via ‘Drive Modes’ on the home screen, drivers can easily access ‘Pure’ mode alongside other options. That means switching from hybrid to electric-only power is now only one tap away, giving drivers more control.
At the same time as the updates above, Volvo Cars will also start to roll out the opportunity for all customers with Google built-in or its equivalent in China and South Korea, but without its Pilot Assist driver assistance feature, to purchase and download the feature to their car.
The update also prepares cars for an optimal conversational AI experience with Google Gemini, which is set to come to the same eligible cars later this spring.
Inevitable Volvo Car UX Footnotes
1: Including C40, XC40, EX40, EC40, S60, V60, V60 Cross Country, XC60, S90, V90, V90 Cross Country and XC90 with Android operating system. Over-the-air installation of regular software updates are provided at no charge as long as cars have been updated with the latest software updates on a regular basis, and customers have an active data connection. Otherwise customers may need to visit an authorized Volvo Cars service center to be able to receive software updates, which may incur a fee.
*AutoInformed on
**Volvo Cars is a subsidiary of Geely Holding (GEELY.UL), which owns ~78.7% of the company’s outstanding shares. Geely Holding, a Chinese multinational enterprise, bought Volvo from Ford Motor in 2010 after years of cultural clashes between American Ford and Swedish Volvo employees and senior managers. During 2025, Volvo Cars on average had 42,600 full-time employees. Volvo Cars’ head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Cars’ production plants are located in Gothenburg, Ghent (Belgium), South Carolina (US), Chengdu, Daqing and Taizhou (China). The company also has R&D and design centers in Gothenburg and Shanghai (China). In 2025, Volvo Cars sold more than 710,000 cars, with an electrified share of 46%.Volvo Cars on average employed 42,600 full-time employees. – AutoCrat.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.