Volvo Cars expands automated driving partnership with Nvidia

By Marie Mannes

STOCKHOLM, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Volvo Cars is expanding its partnership with Nvidia to develop a new generation of driver-assistance and automated-driving technology, the companies said on Thursday, as carmakers race to bring increasingly advanced hands-free driving features to market.

• The companies said Volvo would combine its safety systems and engineering expertise with Nvidia's artificial intelligence and computing technologies, including the Hyperion sensor, computer architecture and autonomous-driving software stack.

• Automakers including Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Ford have been targeting more advanced automated-driving systems, from hands-free highway driving to self-driving in limited conditions.

• Tesla is pushing for broader approval of its assisted-driving technology in Europe, including urban areas with an EU-wide vote possible in December.

• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told reporters in Stockholm that partnering with Volvo provided the chipmaker with a "tremendous opportunity" because of the automaker's rigorous safety standards. Huang said features would be rolled out gradually.

• "As the car earns its trust and as Volvo becomes comfortable with the capabilities of the cars, they'll continue to expand the services that are available. There's no hurry, safety first," Huang said.

• Besides Volvo, Nvidia has partnerships with a wide range of automakers, including Mercedes, Jaguar Land Rover and Hyundai.

• Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said the company would take a cautious approach to deployment.

• "We will never let it out under conditions which we know are not safe," Samuelsson told reporters.

• The technology, which Volvo ultimately expects to support hands-free driving both in urban environments and on highways, should appear in Volvo vehicles before 2030 and will be launched in multiple regions simultaneously, excluding China,  Alwin Bakkenes, Volvo Cars' head of software ⁠engineering, said.

• Volvo, majority-owned by China's Geely Holding, has not chosen a pricing model yet, Bakkenes said, but features would not be limited to higher-priced models.

(Reporting by Marie Mannes; Editing by Susan Fenton and David Gregorio)