Volvo Car USA To Equip U.S. Retailers With Automated Vehicle-Inspection Systems

Volvo Car USA is rolling out a new program to equip U.S. retailers with automated vehicle-inspection systems to improve customer satisfaction and business efficiencies to strengthen further the Swedish automaker’s reputation for product quality and safety.  

High-speed, camera-based systems from Israel-based UVeye utilise artificial intelligence and machine-learning technologies to check tires, underbody components and vehicle exteriors for defects, missing parts and other safety-related issues.

This automated vehicle inspection process takes seconds to complete. According to Rick Bryant, the vice president for sales operations at Volvo Car USA, it is significantly faster than time-consuming manual inspections. This helps retailers evaluate trade-ins quickly and cost-effectively and check the condition of customer cars coming in for service.

The Volvo Car USA program is being launched at select retailers on the East Coast. The company ultimately hopes a majority of its more than 280 independent retail locations in the U.S. will install the new automated vehicle-inspection systems.

UVeye and Volvo Cars had collaborated since 2019 when the automaker became a strategic investor through the Volvo Cars Tech Fund. Since then, Volvo Cars also has installed UVeye body-inspection scanners on its assembly lines for quality assurance.

“This is a homerun for Volvo Cars and our retailers,” Bryant said. “UVeye’s automated systems will add a new level of credibility to the inspection process for us, for our retailers and our customers.”

Volvo retailers can install three basic UVeye inspection systems, described by UVeye as follows:

• Helios – An underbody scanner that detects a wide range of problems from frame damage to oil leakage and corrosion.
• Artemis – A tire system that quickly identifies tire brand, basic specifications, air pressure, tread depth, sidewall damage and even whether a vehicle’s tires are mismatched.
• Atlas – A system that provides 360-degree scans of the exterior and detects damage such as dents, scratches and rust on critical components such as bumpers, mirrors, door locks, grilles and windows.

Volvo Cars prides itself on its long-standing reputation for safety, which can be further enhanced by using automated inspection systems in-retailer service departments.

UVeye systems are designed to spot safety issues ranging from damaged tires to defective underbody parts, potentially identifying more serious problems before they occur or even preventing accidents.

The new service department technology offers three significant benefits for Volvo Car retailers and their customers. It helps service technicians quickly identify problems to expedite maintenance and repair work for starters.

Secondly, it tells Volvo Car owners who cite safety as an essential purchase consideration that their vehicles are in good hands and receiving safety inspections using advanced technology to achieve even higher quality.

And finally, these new systems can create digital “vehicle health” reports with photos that can be shared with each customer. These reports allow the dealer to include their customers in the inspection process.

“An automated system can help resolve problems,” Bryant says. “It shows the vehicle’s actual condition. The result is that customers will see flaws such as a rusty tailpipe that they didn’t know about. And they’ll also know the retailer is upfront with them.”

Volvo Cars sees opportunities for “all sorts of applications” for the new technology, including its use for vehicle trade-in appraisals. Car owners, for example, often think their trade-ins are in better condition than they are.

David Oren, UVeye’s chief strategy officer, notes that “Volvo Cars and its retailers are interested in capabilities and technology that add up to better service for their customers. Volvo Cars stand out for its commitment to safety and its strong engagement with customers.”

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