Volvo has signed an agreement to provide cars to the autonomous driving technology unit of China's top ride-hailing firm, Didi Chuxing, for its self-driving test fleet.

Volvo Cars will provide DiDi with XC90 cars equipped with necessary backup systems for functions such as steering and braking, and collaborate with DiDi Autonomous Driving to integrate the additional software and hardware required to make it fully ready for autonomous drive.

The XC90 cars will be the first to integrate DiDi Gemini, DiDi Autonomous Driving's new self-driving hardware platform and are intended to be deployed for ride-hailing in DiDi’s network in the future.

The agreement reinforces Volvo Cars’ position as a provider of cars and the partner of choice for self-driving fleets, building on its reputation as a global leader in automotive safety.

The built-in backup systems and safety features on the XC90s, combined with DiDi Autonomous Driving’s advanced self-driving system, will eventually allow the cars to operate without safety drivers in robotaxi services.

In 2020, Volvo Cars provided DiDi with Volvo XC60s for use in Shanghai’s first pilot robotaxi programme. People in certain areas of Shanghai could book trips by robotaxi in the DiDi app and be driven autonomously, while the cars were monitored by a safety driver and engineer.

“This strategic collaboration with DiDi Autonomous Driving is further validation of our ambition to be the partner of choice to the world’s leading ride-hailing companies,” said Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo Cars’ chief executive.

“Combining DiDi’s expanding robotaxi programme with our safe cars creates a great match to build trust among consumers for autonomous ride-hailing.”

“In expanding partnerships with global automotive industry leaders, we believe shared, electric and autonomous vehicle networks will be crucial for future urban transport systems to achieve the highest safety and sustainability standards,” said Bob Zhang, CEO of DiDi Autonomous Driving and CTO of Didi Chuxing.