Volvo Achieves Level 5 SDV Certification: What This Means for EV Innovation in 2026
Daniel Kim Views
Volvo Cars said on the 23rd that S&P Global Mobility, a division of S&P Global and one of the world’s top three credit-rating organizations, has awarded the company the highest designation: Level 5 SDV (Software‑Defined Vehicle). Volvo is the only automaker worldwide to receive that rating.
The certification validates Volvo’s ability to enhance almost every function across a vehicle’s lifecycle and to deliver greater value to customers. S&P Global Mobility highlighted Volvo’s use of over‑the‑air (OTA) updates to add safety features, improve the user experience and boost charging speed and driving range.
Software‑defined vehicles (SDVs) give automakers the power to continuously upgrade cars on the road and raise safety standards. After undergoing the largest technological transformation in nearly a century, Volvo can now rapidly convert real‑world driving data into intelligent insights and use that information to train future safety and driver‑assist systems.
Volvo’s in‑house core system, Hugin Core, comprises the electrical architecture, the central computer, zone controllers and software. Hugin Core will be deployed on Volvo’s next‑generation SDV models — including the EX90, ES90 and EX60 — enabling a better customer experience, faster innovation and scalable improvements across the lineup.
S&P Global Mobility, which conducted the assessment, is a leading provider in automotive research and intelligence. It supplies automakers with comprehensive industry data and expert insights to help them make more informed, lower‑risk decisions.
Volvo Cars CEO Håkan Samuelsson said the company has sustained years of investment and development to build top‑level software capabilities, and that this foundation has enabled dramatic advances in both customer experience and development speed.
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