Interview with Jim Nichols, Vice President, Head of Product & Technology Consumer Offer at Volvo

Q: What are the key trends you're seeing in the automotive technology industry right now, and which innovations do you think will have the biggest impact on user experience in the next few years?

We have to bridge the gap across a wide range of generational preferences for interacting for the car. We have to accommodate for people that want a more traditional experience alongside those that want a dynamically changing, personalized experience. It is a challenge to do both well and ensure that one preference is not suboptimized for the other. We see this today in the battle of buttons versus touchscreens. We are going to see it intensify as voice interactions and AI chatbots become more normalized in day-to-day life.

Everyone is going to expect different things in different ways. It is the first time since the invention of the automobile that we have different ways of interacting with the car and interacting with daily activities, such as radio versus streaming. We cannot ignore one generational preference for another, we have to meet all customers in their needs.

Q: What are the biggest challenges you are seeing in enhancing the connected car ecosystem?

There is a gap in determining the best communications channels. There are a lot of ideas from cellular to RF and everything in-between. It is not feasible that RF communications systems will be the only way, we will need a blend of cellular and satellite to achieve the connected car’s full potential. The big question is – will the customer pay for that connectivity? Where do those costs go for a customer that is becoming fatigued from subscriptions.

Q: How is Volvo leveraging emerging technologies to meet the evolving expectations of consumers convenience, personalization, and overall driving experience?

We attempt to use the Scandinavian engineering philosophy of “meeting the customer where they are” meaning that we have don’t add technology for technology sake. It has to have a use in the daily “job to be done” – which means what is the customer trying to achieve and how can we best utilize the car’s technology to make that happen in a seamless way.

We’ve also looked deep inside our organization and properly identified what we are good at and what we are not. That is evident in embracing Google GAS with Google Maps, a fantastic partner that has integrated something our customers already use with a core need in our vehicles.

Q: How is the evolution of telematics technology presenting opportunities to automakers?

The goal is to make a seamless ownership and customer experience. Leveraging telematics data down to the ECU level, we can get ahead of quality and maintenance issues for the customer. We can also improve the vehicle over time. Improving the vehicle over time creates a better bond between us and our customer, letting them know that as we develop new safety features and usability functions, that they will be included.

Over the last few months, we updated over 2 million cars with a new user interface based on driver feedback. This was unthinkable before connected cars. Now we are able to identify customer pain points and fix them, even if the car is a few years old.

Q: AutoTech is a key event for showcasing innovation in the automotive industry. What excites you most about participating in AutoTech this year, and what do you hope attendees take away from your presentation?

The value of connected cars can be multiplied when OEMs can agree on certain parameters to share. I am hoping to connect with other automakers on what we are doing and how we can share the benefits of connected cars together.

We are currently running pilots on tolling and other V2X efforts that will drive new revenue streams for all participating OEMs. We are building those pilots as white-labels, so each OEM can participate without a dominate OEM brand. The more we cooperate, the better the revenue stream will be for all of us.