As two leading companies in the commercial vehicle industry, Sweden’s Volvo Group and Germany’s Daimler Truck want to lead the digital transformation to software-defined heavy-duty commercial vehicles.
The companies have agreed upon a joint venture to develop a common software-defined vehicle platform and dedicated truck operating system, providing the basis for future software-defined commercial vehicles.
The intention is to make the new joint venture a leading developer of standardized hardware and software. This technical basis will then enable Volvo Group and Daimler Truck—and potentially other partners—to provide differentiating digital vehicle features for their products, ultimately enhancing customer efficiency and experience.
The Volvo Group and Daimler Truck intend to be 50/50 partners in the joint venture, which will operate as an independent entity, with the Volvo Group and Daimler Truck continuing to be competitors in all other areas of business.
In the context of the already heavy investments into the transformation towards CO2-neutral drive technologies, cooperation on digital technology development has become even more vital to meet development objectives and customer expectations within a feasible timeframe.
Martin Lundstedt, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Volvo Group, stated, “Volvo Group and Daimler Truck are two individually great companies. Now we are combining our forces to accelerate the customer benefits that a software-defined truck platform will bring. Given the rapid transformation of our industry, it makes sense to collaborate to accelerate development, increase volumes, and share costs.”
He continued: “Software-defined heavy-duty trucks represent a paradigm shift in the transformation of our industry. Making the truck a programmable device with standardized hardware and an operating system for fast product updates will [allow] both companies the opportunity to create value for our customers and their customers through differentiating digital services and solutions. Partnership is truly the new leadership.”
Martin Daum, the Chief Executive Officer of Daimler Truck, added, “Just as important as the transformation towards CO2-neutral drive technologies is the digitalization in the vehicle.
“Developing a common software-defined vehicle platform with Volvo Group will enable us to turn our vehicles into programmable devices. It will allow us to build differentiating digital vehicle features with significantly greater speed and efficiency for our truck and bus customers around the globe. Together with the Volvo Group, we can develop a benchmark truck operating system and set an industry standard,” said Daum.
The joint venture will be headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, incorporating the existing assets and resources of both companies into the new organization. The goal of both shareholders is to set the industry standard for a truck operating system and offer its products to other OEMs as well. To that end, the joint venture will provide a common developer platform as a service, on top of which its customers can build differentiating software layers.
Even with the partnership in this venture, both Volvo Group and Daimler Truck agree that they will remain fierce competitors and continue to differentiate their complete product and service offerings, including their respective digital solutions.
Both companies will provide their end-user applications on top of the platform to offer differentiating digital vehicle features to their respective customers.
The now-signed preliminary agreement is non-binding. A final agreement is expected within this year to hopefully close the final transaction in Q1 of 2025.