Volvo to Debut Car-to-Car Communications This Year

Volvo Car Group will introduce a system before the end of 2016 that enables its top-of-the-line 90-series cars to automatically swap information with each other about road conditions.

By sharing data, cars can alert drivers behind them about upcoming road hazards, slippery surfaces and other perils. Expanded versions of such systems can alert drivers of approaching emergency vehicles and display information about roadside attractions, restaurants and other services.

Volvo detailed the cloud-based technology, which will debut in Europe, in January. The company tells Automotive News Europe it will include the system in its S90 sedan, V90 wagon and XC90 crossover models.

Toyota Motor Corp. rolled out its own version of car-to-car communications in Japan last year. The Toyota system enables vehicles to exchange information directly between themselves and the infrastructure via low-power broadcasts. Introduced in the Crown luxury sedan, the technology also alerts drivers of approaching emergency vehicles and can signal when a traffic signal is about to change.

Earlier this year Daimler AG introduced its own cloud-based car-to-car system in Europe, China and the U.S. ANE notes that General Motors Co.’s Cadillac brand aims to launch such a system in certain U.S. models next year. Other carmakers that are developing comparable communication systems include Audi and Jaguar Land Rover.