Volvo Cars Plans to Open New Tech Hub in Krakow, Poland

Today Volvo Cars reveals plans to open a new Tech Hub in Krakow, Poland’s second-largest city. It will be an important software development centre and play a crucial role in the company’s strategic ambitions to be a fully electric brand by 2030 and a leader in new technology, not least through in-house software development.

The Tech hub will be responsible for developing complete and critical features on Volvo Cars’ new fully electric cars, which are core to our purpose as a brand.

Volvo Cars engineers in Krakow will join our global pool of talent to boost our innovation speed by developing software for critical 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 autonomous driving.

Other engineering challenges include developing our next-generation connected features or supporting all our development work through data analytics. If you want to help us shape the future of mobility, our new Krakow site will be the place to be.

We intend to have our new Tech Hub operational by the end of this year, with around 120 bright engineering minds in place. By mid-decade, we aim to employ between 500 and 600 people in Krakow, complementing and closely linked to our core engineering centres in China, Sweden, and other tech hubs worldwide.

Software-Defined

As Volvo Cars recently revealed all-electric Volvo EX90 SUV demonstrates, the automotive industry is rapidly changing, and the company’s forthcoming fully electric cars will all be software-defined.

The Volvo car of the future will be fully electric, increasingly sold online, powered by cutting-edge core computers running in-house developed software and become better over time thanks to regular over-the-air software updates.

That makes in-house software development key to achieving our strategic ambitions, including being a new technology leader and a pure electric car brand by 2030. To accelerate our transformation, we’re recruiting thousands of engineering talents around the globe, and the Krakow hub will be another piece of that puzzle.

“We’re a purpose-led and technology-driven company, so our new generation of Volvo cars will be more than just transport,” said Jim Rowan, our chief executive. “They’ll be computers on wheels, designed to be updated over the air with new software. That means our Krakow tech hub and growing our in-house software development capabilities are key to our future success.”

Naturally, Volvo Cars picked Krakow after careful deliberation. The company knows the country well – it has had a presence in Poland for around 30 years – and the city is an emerging tech centre with a broad network of tech firms. It also has a large telecom sector, an industry which has been a rich source of recruits at other locations where we have engineering centres.

On top of that, while other large, global tech companies also have a presence in Poland, many haven’t discovered Krakow yet. Volvo Cars would be the first car maker with a significant engineering presence, which makes it a perfect location for our new Tech Hub. Now the company will start to build networks and find talent, so  Volvo Cars’ new office can be up and running by the end of the year.

“Our ambition is to attract and recruit top talent globally by being present in strategically important locations,” said our chief people officer Hanna Fager. “Our new Tech Hub in Krakow is a perfect example of that. So if you’re interested in shaping the future of mobility with a brand at the forefront of technology development and inspired to nurture our strong culture and values, Volvo Cars is the place for you.”

Volvo Cars currently operate Tech Hubs in Stockholm, Lund in Sweden, and Bangalore in India. The company also have large engineering centres in Shanghai, China and Gothenburg, Sweden. While each location has its focus area, they make up a crucial network of innovation centres strategically spread around the globe.