Moderation Team
Polestar’s new chief operating officer, Dennis Nobelius, has spent the last four years developing technology that enables cars to drive themselves.
Nobelius, who previously was CEO of autonomous drive software specialist Zenuity, will get to apply those skills to new-generation Polestar models such as the recently announced Precept.
The front end of Polestar’s forthcoming flagship grand tourer, which the Volvo Cars subsidiary said would go into production within the next three years, will become a so-called SmartZone to house radar sensors, a high-definition camera and driver assistance equipment while a spot on the roof will house the lidar system.
Getting those systems to work together seamlessly to make hands-free driving on highways a reality was a specialty of Nobelius while at Zenuity, which already provides Polestar’s current models with their Level 2 autonomous systems that can steer, brake and accelerate the car as long the driver remains in full control.
During Nobelius’s time at Zenuity the supplier also developed its Z2 autonomous driving software for the next generation of the SPA architecture, known as SPA2, that will underpin models such as the Precept and Volvo’s third-generation XC90 flagship SUV.
Volvo Chief Technology Officer Henrik Green told Automotive News Europe in April that the Z2 system will enable autonomous driving on highways starting as early as 2022.
Separately, Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath envisions a product from his brand in the future that will change the way people think of a robotaxi.
“There will be a mobility offer that is highly personalized and very luxurious in Polestar cars,” Ingenlath told ANE last year. “With this type of shared mobility, you will have a really luxurious, personalized experience that is the opposite to public transport or taking a taxi because sometimes you are happy to be on your own.”
What these autonomous solutions are likely to have in common is software that was created in-house by the remnants of Zenuity.
“We believe that in the future there will only be a limited number of global software platforms for autonomous driving. We intend to develop one of these winning platforms,” Nobelius said in April in release announced the end of the joint venture, which officially shut down in July.
Veoneer’s piece of the business continues to produce advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
Meanwhile, the part of the JV that Volvo retained, now called Zenseact, will further develop and commercialize the Z2 system, which the stand-alone company said will be available to Volvo, Polestar as well as other automakers.
Zenseact will be run by Volvo’s former chief digital officer, Odgard Andersson, who starts as CEO Nov. 1.
Prior to his stint at Zenuity, Nobelius served as Volvo’s managing director in Switzerland and for a time was in charge of development for the Swedish automaker’s crucial 90-series vehicles, which includes the XC90 as well as the S90 sedan and V90 station wagon.
Nobelius, who started in September, succeeds Jonathan Goodman, who now leads the brand’s sales and R&D operations in the UK in addition to serving as its global head of communications. Prior to being named Polestar’s first COO after it was made a stand-alone brand in 2017, Goodman was Volvo’s senior vice president of corporate communication. Prior to that he held a similar post at PSA Group.
Source: europe.autonews.com
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