Volvo’s Head of Safety Supports Combining European and North American Vehicle Standards

• Many are pushing to harmonize Canadian and European vehicle safety standards in the face of U.S. tariffs.

• Volkswagen has already said it would consider bringing more European models to Canada if they meet safety standards.

• Volvo’s head of safety also backs this initiative, saying it could make cars safer everywhere.

In the midst of the U.S.-Canada trade war, several automotive industry organizations have been advocating for the broadening of Canadian vehicle safety standards, which have been closely tied to American legislation for decades.

The idea behind this is to allow more vehicles from global markets to be sold in Canada, providing buyers with a better variety and, more importantly, cheaper new vehicles.

Volkswagen Canada said that it would consider importing more models that the automaker currently sells in Europe and Asia if changes to regulations mean they can now be sold locally.

Now, the head of Volvo’s safety centre, Åsa Haglund, also backs combining European and North American safety standards.

The Swedish automaker’s motivation in this regard has less to do with the Canada-U.S. relationship and more to do with improving vehicle safety globally.

Indeed, Haglund says she wants both U.S. and European safety standards to be studied closely in order to determine which one is most comprehensive in each area.

Since both sets of standards have their own strengths and weaknesses, the idea is not to adopt one or the other globally as is.

Instead, Volvo’s safety center chief wants to see a new worldwide standard that combines the most stringent areas of both, in an effort to improve overall automotive safety and to ensure that drivers and passengers are just as safe everywhere.

Harmonizing European and North American safety standards wouldn’t have a significant impact on Volvo’s operations since the company already engineers its vehicles to meet both safety standards, with only minor differences required for sale in different countries.

Asked about how Volvo would ensure vehicle costs don’t skyrocket with the addition of new safety technologies needed to meet stricter standards, Haglund said that the automaker aims to make the most effective safety solutions with the least amount of tech, oftentimes using existing sensors for multiple systems at once.

The transition toward software-defined vehicles will also allow the automaker to improve the safety of its vehicles without large investments. One example of this is harnessing data from all connected Volvo vehicles globally to train driver assistance systems.

According to Haglund, the company could even use data collected by vehicles with high-end sensors, such as the top-of-the-line EX90, to improve less advanced systems used in more affordable models, such as the EX30, thus providing better safety without requiring new sensors.

Source: Automotive News Canada