- The Volvo EX60 will be the first to ship with Google Gemini built-in
- Volvo is promising “natural conversation” between man and machine
- Latest hardware from Nvidia and Qualcomm speeds up response time
Volvo’s ground-breaking, mid-sized electric SUV is due to be revealed in full later this week, boasting a range of around 500 miles on a single charge and in-car technology that builds on its already very advanced Android Automotive system.
But the Swedish marque also confirmed that the upcoming model will be the first to ship with Google’s Gemini AI assistant already baked in, allowing for more natural conversations between occupants and the car itself.
Combining hardware from Nvidia and Qualcomm with both Google and in-house developed software, Volvo says its brilliantly-named ‘HuginCore’ system is powerful enough to deliver highly personalized and deeply integrated responses via Google’s Gemini voice assistant.
Complex tasks can be managed through more natural and “multi-turn” conversation, rather than drivers having to remember specific commands or by having to prod various menus that pop up on the touchscreen display.
Volvo gives a number of potential use cases for the technology, such as searching for a hotel booking address in a linked email account (Gmail presumably works best), checking if a recently bought item fits in your EX60 trunk, or brainstorming ideas for an upcoming road trip.
Rather than merely acting as a built-in voice assistant that takes care of a limited amount of vehicle functionality, Gemini integration means drivers and occupants can deal with life admin via any linked Google services, as well as ask more generic questions.
It’s also tipped to play nicely with Google Maps, which has become widely regarded as the dominant mapping and navigation service for drivers. This means owners can check if locations are open and even book hotels and restaurants on the move with natural voice prompts, in theory at least.
The next-generation Snapdragon Cockpit Platform from Qualcomm provides the highest levels of processing power ever seen on a Volvo, while Nvidia’s latest Drive AGX Orin system-on-a-chip runs the operating system as a whole.
Combined, this is said to offer a lag-free infotainment system with maps that load instantly and voice assistants that don’t take an age to compute the request and respond.
The company has also announced that Gemini integration will improve over time with over-the-air updates, stating that Gemini will be able to use the EX60’s cameras to “see what you see and answer questions about the world around you”.
Gemini is also coming to other Volvo vehicles running the latest infotainment systems, such as the recently-launched ES90 saloon and the seven-seat EX90.
Analysis: battle of the voice assistants
The race is now on for automotive manufacturers to deliver AI-powered voice assistants that are actually useful. Up until this point, they have been clunky, to say the least, with response times long and multiple attempts often required to get the desired answer.
Volkswagen, for example, took to the stage at CES in 2024 to announce that it was integrating ChatGPT into its vehicles, but that system could only answer wider queries and couldn’t actually adjust anything inside the car – you had to use VW’s voice assistant for that.
Fast-forward to 2026, and BMW was in Las Vegas, showcasing its Amazon Alexa+ system that aims to integrate things further, allowing for flowing conversation with the upcoming iX3, as well as the ability to both operate and interact with Amazon accounts and hardware.
It will be interesting to see if Volvo can genuinely crack the whole “seamless” conversation thing, as even BMW’s live demonstration at this year’s CES wasn’t perfect.
Some responses took a little while to calculate and the whole experience didn’t really feel like chatting with a fellow human being.
But Volvo’s Android-based infotainment system is already impressive and, seeing as most vehicle functionality is mapped to that massive touchscreen, having Google’s Gemini help with adjusting door mirrors and cabin temperature is probably a good thing.
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