Volvo EX60 brings Google Gemini artificial intelligence and 3D navigation into the car
Volvo Cars and Google used the Google I/O 2026 conference to show a new artificial intelligence and navigation setup in the EX60 electric SUV. With the driver’s permission, Google Gemini can use the car’s cameras to interpret the surrounding environment live, while Google Maps 3D navigation makes complex urban driving easier to understand on the car’s display.
The result is a glimpse of the next battlefield in the car industry. Not horsepower. Not chrome. Software, data and the question of who really owns the driving experience.
Gemini begins to understand the world around the car
The Volvo EX60 shows how artificial intelligence is moving beyond the role of a voice assistant. Gemini can combine camera images, location data and the driver’s questions to help interpret traffic signs, parking rules, landmarks and nearby businesses.
The most useful example is parking. The system can read parking signs, additional information boards, time limits and permit requirements, then give the driver a clear answer on whether parking is allowed in a specific spot.
Volvo is careful to add the necessary warning. Artificial intelligence can make mistakes, and the final responsibility remains with the driver. Sensible, given that a parking fine is still more likely to arrive in the owner’s name than in Gemini’s inbox.
3D navigation makes directions feel more natural
The EX60, EX90 and ES90 will be among the first Volvo models to receive Google Maps Immersive Navigation. The system shows the route in a 3D view with buildings, tunnels, flyovers, traffic lights and lanes. Its purpose is to reduce confusion in places where a conventional flat map does not give the driver enough spatial context.
Voice guidance also becomes more natural. Instead of relying only on distances, the car can refer to visible objects, such as a traffic light, a library or another easily recognisable landmark.
That sounds minor until you are in the wrong lane, in an unfamiliar city, with three junctions arriving at once and a navigation system calmly telling you to turn in 100 metres. At that point, a visible landmark is worth more than another abstract number.
Volvo moves deeper into Google’s ecosystem
Volvo is choosing a strategy in which much of the car’s digital experience depends on Google software. That can speed up development and give drivers a familiar interface, but it also increases the brand’s dependence on a technology partner.
The EX60 shows that competition in the car industry is shifting rapidly towards software, data and user interface design. For Volvo, bringing Google further into the cabin may deliver a quick advantage. Over the longer term, however, the company will need to make sure the Volvo character does not disappear behind someone else’s screen.
For now, the EX60 points to a future where the car does more than follow a route. It watches, interprets and politely advises. Whether that feels reassuring or slightly intrusive may depend on how often it gets the parking sign right.
