Volvo Cars will use Tesla's Superchargers but not its autonomous driving tech. Its CEO explains why

Volvo Cars does not program to usage autonomous driving exertion from Tesla and volition alternatively absorption connected processing its ain systems, according to the company's CEO.

Back successful June, the Gothenburg-headquartered carmaker said it had inked an agreement with Elon Musk's steadfast that would springiness its electrical vehicles entree to 12,000 Tesla Superchargers successful the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

Speaking to CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" connected Thursday morning, Volvo Cars main Jim Rowan was asked whether this meant the concern would see utilizing Tesla's autonomous driving tech successful the future.

"We've already made that determination successful presumption of what we privation to power internally, successful presumption of our exertion stack," Rowan said.

"And we've chosen that we privation to beryllium successful afloat power of our ADAS [advanced operator assistance systems], each the mode up to afloat AD [autonomous driving] software," helium added.

"So we volition proceed to constitute that, we volition proceed to put successful that, and we'll proceed to make that."

In a motion of however the company's strategy is taking shape, Volvo Cars announced precocious past twelvemonth that it had taken full ownership of Zenseact, a concern specializing successful AD software.

Rowan was speaking to CNBC aft Volvo Cars reported second-quarter results. The institution said net earlier involvement and taxes were 5 cardinal Swedish krona (around $487.5 million) compared to 10.8 cardinal Swedish krona successful the 2nd 4th of 2022.

"During the quarter, the institution reported a continued beardown income show successful electrical cars," it said successful a connection accompanying its net report. "Sales of afloat electrical Volvo car models accrued by 178 per cent year-on-year during the 4th and accounted for 16 per cent of its full share."

Volvo Cars' longer-term electrification strategy is centered astir each car it sells being afloat electrical by the twelvemonth 2030. This would mean a phase-out of vehicles utilizing interior combustion engines, a class that includes hybrids.

The past fewer years person seen the automotive manufacture endure issues related to proviso chains and the outgo of materials important to the accumulation of electrical vehicles.

During his interrogation with CNBC, Rowan gave an overview of the existent authorities of play. "Last twelvemonth we saw lithium spike rather dramatically, that's present travel down substantially from its peak," helium said.

"It went from astir 10 to astir $110 per kilo and present it's down … below, determination betwixt 30 and 40 [dollars]," helium added. "So we're starting to spot that normalize, and I deliberation that volition support reducing done the people of this year."  

Rowan besides described semiconductors arsenic being "patchy" successful 2022 but "much, overmuch amended this year."

This had been shown successful Volvo Cars ain output, helium said. "We manufactured implicit 50% much cars this 4th than we did successful the aforesaid 4th past year."

He added that 2022 had besides been affected by Covid lockdowns. "If you remember, Shanghai was locked down for astir 60 days — we had a batch of the suppliers successful Shanghai, and that was an effect there," Rowan said.

"So we're seeing that bounce backmost truly rapidly for us."