With Luminar as standard, Volvo cars’
forthcoming fully electric SUV will debut in California with
Highway Autonomy capabilities
Luminar (Nasdaq: LAZR), the global leader in automotive lidar
hardware and software technology, and Volvo Cars, the global
automotive safety leader, revealed today at CES in Las Vegas the
launch plans for the all electric next generation SUV. The event
also marked the North American debut of the automaker’s Concept
Recharge, a manifesto for Volvo Cars’ future, with Luminar’s Iris
lidar seamlessly integrated into the roofline.
“Luminar’s vision is to democratize next-generation safety and
autonomy, and we’re already seeing this become a reality with the
first vehicle launching on Volvo’s new platform,” said Austin
Russell, Founder and CEO. “With Luminar as standard on every
vehicle, their next SUV has the opportunity to be the safest
vehicle ever produced, while also being the first to enable true
autonomy and at highway speed.”
The first introduction of Volvo Cars’ Ride Pilot, an
unsupervised autonomous driving capability for highways, will be
introduced to customers in the state of California first once it
has been verified as safe for use and planned to be available as an
add-on subscription. It will come equipped as standard with
state-of-the-art lidar hardware with Luminar’s Iris and perception
from its Sentinel solution to enable Proactive Safety™ from day
one, in addition to software developed by AD software company
Zenseact together with Volvo Cars’ in-house team of developers.
“We are proud to announce the planned US launch of our first
truly unsupervised autonomous driving feature, as we look to set a
new industry standard for autonomy without compromising safety,”
said Mats Moberg, head of research and development at Volvo Cars.
“Having Zenseact’s brand new AD software and Luminar’s LiDAR
standard in our new fully electric SUV is a game-changer for Volvo
Cars, as well as for automotive safety and autonomous driving.”
As part of this verification process, Volvo Cars has applied for
a testing permit with the California Department of Transportation
and intends to begin testing on highways in the middle of the year
where the climate, traffic conditions and regulatory framework
provide a favourable environment for the introduction of autonomous
driving. To date, Zenseact has led testing autonomous driving
functionalities on roads in Sweden and collecting data across
Europe and the U.S.
“Delivering a new safety standard for the industry requires a
level of rigorous testing and verification that will expand
globally,” said Odgard Anderson, CEO of Zenseact. “Zenseact AD
software plays a key role in this new standard and in our journey
towards zero collisions.”
At CES, Luminar also featured the Concept Recharge in its booth,
showcasing a new era of vehicle design with technology celebrated
and at the forefront. In 2020, Volvo Cars gave a first look at the
next generation SUV featuring a completely reimagined roofline that
featured the safety technology discreetly integrated into the
roofline, while also giving a visual cue of its superior technical
prowess. This was the first time an automaker had designed
autonomous technology into the roofline of a vehicle that will be
made available to consumers. Since then, a half dozen automakers
have followed suit.
To learn more and see the Concept Recharge live, attendees can
visit Luminar at CES Booth #5543, West Hall from January 5–8, 2022.
For an overview of Luminar news and activities at CES 2022,
including the unveiling of a lidar-equipped “Blade” commercial
truck prototype, visit: https://www.luminartech.com/ces/.
About Luminar Technologies:
Luminar is an autonomous vehicle sensor and software company
with the vision to make autonomy safe and ubiquitous by delivering
the only lidar and associated software that meets the industry’s
stringent performance, safety, and economic requirements. Luminar
has rapidly gained over 50 industry partners, including 8 of the
top 10 global automotive OEMs. In 2020, Luminar signed the
industry’s first production deal for autonomous consumer vehicles
with Volvo Cars, while also recently striking deals with Daimler
Truck AG and Intel’s Mobileye. Luminar has also received minority
investments from the world’s largest commercial vehicle
manufacturer, Daimler Truck AG, and Volvo Cars, a global leader in
automotive safety, to accelerate the introduction of autonomous
trucks and cars at highway speed. Founded in 2012, Luminar employs
approximately 400 with offices in Palo Alto, Orlando, Colorado
Springs, Detroit, and Munich.
About Volvo Car Group
Volvo Cars was founded in 1927. Today, it is one of the most
well-known and respected car brands in the world with sales to
customers in more than 100 countries. Volvo Cars is listed on the
Nasdaq Stockholm exchange, where it is traded under the ticker
“VOLCAR B”.
Volvo Cars aims to provide customers with the Freedom to Move in
a personal, sustainable and safe way. This is reflected in its
ambition to become a fully electric car maker by 2030 and in its
commitment to an ongoing reduction of its carbon footprint, with
the ambition to be a climate-neutral company by 2040.
As of December 2020, Volvo Cars employed approximately 40,000
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 (Sweden), Ghent (Belgium), South Carolina (US), Chengdu,
Daqing and Taizhou (China). The company also has R&D and design
centres in Gothenburg, Camarillo (US) and Shanghai (China).
About Zenseact
Zenseact’s purpose is to preserve life by accelerating the
transition to zero collisions by developing the complete software
stack for AD and ADAS, from sensing to actuation. Focus is to build
a cutting-edge software service platform in order to serve various
levels of autonomy and offer unequaled scalability at the same
time. Zenseact was founded by Volvo Cars in 2020, operates in
Gothenburg, Sweden, and Shanghai, China with approximately 600
engineers
www.zenseact.com
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements included in this press release that are not
historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the
safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are
accompanied by words such as “aims”, “believe,” “may,” “will,”
“estimate,” “set,” “continue,” “towards,” “anticipate,” “intend,”
“expect,” “should,” “would,” “forward,” and similar expressions
that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not
statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our
expectations for standards of industry safety, future autonomous
driving capabilities, receipt of governmental approvals, and the
timing of testing and availability to consumers. These statements
are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this
press release, and on the current expectations of Luminar’s
management and are not predictions of actual performance.
Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and
uncertainties, including but not limited to the risks discussed
under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Annual Report on Form 10-K
filed by Luminar on April 14, 2021, and other documents Luminar
files with the SEC in the future. You are cautioned not to place
undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date made and Luminar undertakes no obligation to
update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or
circumstances after the date of this press release.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220105005463/en/
Luminar Technologies Media Relations:
Press@luminartech.com
Investor Relations: Trey Campbell Investors@luminartech.com
Volvo Car Group media@volvocars.com
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