The Drive Me project, a unique public pilot with ordinary drivers behind the steering wheels of 100 self-driving Volvos, has been joined by a new prominent Swedish partner: Chalmers University of Technology.

"We are very happy that Chalmers is joining our aim to pinpoint the societal benefits of autonomous driving," says H+â-Ñkan Samuelsson, President and CEO of the Volvo Car Group. "The academic perspective will be crucial to our efforts to integrate self-driving cars into real-life traffic and to position Sweden as a leader in the development of future mobility."

Chalmers University is joining the original partners, Volvo Car Group, the Swedish Transport Administration, the Swedish Transport Agency, Lindholmen Science Park and the City of Gothenburg in this one-of-a-kind collaboration, which is endorsed by the Swedish Government.

Chalmers +óGé¼GÇ£ adding an academic perspective on self-driving cars
As the academic partner in Drive Me, Chalmers will strengthen the project's scientific dimension, which will now include independent research and programmes for educating new experts.

"Drive Me is perfectly in tune with our aim to be an academic powerhouse in the field of automated transport solutions. We will bring knowledge and research capacity to the broad Drive Me approach, which will be crucial in ensuring the efficient integration of technological and organisational mobility solutions in the future," says Karin Markides, President at Chalmers University of Technology.

About Drive Me
Drive Me is a unique large-scale autonomous driving pilot project in which 100 self-driving Volvo cars will use public roads in everyday driving conditions. The cars will be driven autonomously on approximately 50 kilometres of selected roads in and around Gothenburg in Sweden; roads which will be typical commuter arteries including motorway conditions and frequent queues.

The project was initiated in 2013. The first test vehicles have been on the road in Gothenburg since 2014 +óGé¼GÇ£ and Volvo Cars has recently taken a major leap forward by presenting a complete system solution for self-driving cars. The public pilot is scheduled to start in 2017.

For further information please contact:

Greg Bosnich
Director, PR & Corporate, Volvo Car Australia
T: +61 2 9020 1673
M: +61 419 620995
E: greg.bosnich@volvocars.com

Oliver Peagam
Public Affairs Manager
Volvo Car Australia
T: 02 9020 1613
M: 0408 691 017
E: opeagam@volvocars.com

Volvo Car Group in 2014

For the 2014 financial year, Volvo Car Group recorded an operating profit of 2,252 MSEK (1,919 MSEK in 2013). Revenue over the period amounted to 129,959 MSEK (122,245 MSEK). For the full year 2014, global sales reached a record 465,866 cars, an increase of 8.9 per cent versus 2013. The record sales and operating profit cleared the way for Volvo Car Group to continue investing in its global transformation plan.

About Volvo Car Group

Volvo has been in operation since 1927. Today, Volvo Cars is one of the most well-known and respected car brands in the world with sales of 465,866 in 2014 in about 100 countries. Volvo Cars has been under the ownership of the Zhejiang Geely Holding (Geely Holding) of China since 2010. It formed part of the Swedish Volvo Group until 1999, when the company was bought by Ford Motor Company of the US. In 2010, Volvo Cars was acquired by Geely Holding.

As of December 2014, Volvo Cars had over 26,000 employees worldwide. Volvo Cars head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Cars head office for China is located in Shanghai. The company's main car production plants are located in Gothenburg (Sweden), Ghent (Belgium) and Chengdu (China), while engines are manufactured in Sk+â-¦vde (Sweden) and Zhangjiakou (China) and body components in Olofstr+â-¦m (Sweden).