Qualcomm is expanding its automotive platforms with new Volvo, Honda, Renault deals

Qualcomm’s vision of a Digital Chassis vehicle | Image: Qualcomm

Qualcomm has announced several new expansions of its partnerships with major car companies to provide hardware and software platforms for connected vehicles at CES 2022, partnering with Volvo, Honda, and Renault to add more functionality to their upcoming cars.

Qualcomm already has a full suite of automotive platforms, which it collectively calls the Qualcomm Digital Chassis. The goal is to provide automakers with a variety of tools they can use to help make their cars more intelligent and more connected (although companies can pick and choose which of the platforms they want to use).

Those include:

Snapdragon Ride, which provides driver assistance and automated driving technologies
Snapdragon Cockpit, for in-car experiences, including SoCs and software solutions for powering multiple displays and audio / video / multimedia
Snapdragon Auto Connectivity, for providing automakers with LTE, 5G, Wi-Fi, and GPS solutions for connecting cars to the internet, cloud, and other vehicles
Snapdragon Car-to-Cloud Services, which provides security features and a platform for adding over-the-air updates and paid services, in addition to vehicle and user analytics, so that automakers can monetize more of their vehicles

Honda, for example, announced at CES 2022 that it’ll be using Qualcomm’s third-generation Snapdragon Cockpit platform to power its Android-based infotainment system in upcoming cars coming to the US in the second half of 2022 and in early 2023. Volvo announced a similar plan at the conference, working with both Qualcomm and Google to offer Android infotainment systems in its upcoming Polestar 3 SUV and Volvo’s planned fully electric SUV.

Renault, on the other hand, is planning a more comprehensive adoption of Qualcomm’s Digital Chassis, intending on using Qualcomm’s platforms for connectivity, driver assistance, cockpit experiences, and cloud services on upcoming Renault vehicles. The new deals join existing deals Qualcomm has with other major carmakers, including BMW, GM, Hyundai, and more.