Volvo is gearing up to showcase its latest electric vehicle, the EX60 SUV, to a global audience next week. This model heralds a new era for the brand, constructed on a cutting-edge EV-only platform. Embracing modern design principles, it features a cell-to-body battery pack, sizable weight-saving castings, and an advanced electronic architecture. This system operates using a limited number of high-powered computers capable of executing over 250 trillion operations each second.
This innovative platform is dubbed HuginCore, named after one of the two ravens that served the Norse god Odin by gathering information. This isn't Volvo's first foray into mythological references. 'We have Thor’s Hammer, our distinctive headlight design, and now HuginCore,' explains Alwin Bakkenes, Volvo Cars' head of global software engineering. Reflecting on the legendary birds, Bakkenes shared, 'Hugin and Muninn were sent by Odin to observe and report, enabling him to make informed decisions as ruler of Asgard.'
Bakkenes described HuginCore as an integral component of Volvo's second-generation software-defined vehicle platform, which draws from their experiences with previous models like the EX90. 'Transitioning into a tech-focused company with control over both hardware and software has been challenging,' Bakkenes acknowledged. He expressed how learnings from the EX90 have been applied to developing the EX60.
The platform, known as Scalable Product Architecture 3 (SPA3), promises enhanced scalability and performance. Excitingly for current Volvo owners, the emergence of SPA3 and HuginCore doesn’t mean existing SPA2 models will be left behind.