Volvo Car USA is rolling out a new programme to equip US retailers with automated vehicle-inspection systems that aim to improve customer satisfaction and business efficiency.
High-speed, camera-based systems from Israel-based UVeye use artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to check tyres, underbody components and vehicle exteriors for defects, missing parts and other safety related issues.
This automated vehicle inspection process takes seconds to complete and is significantly faster than time consuming manual inspections, according to Rick Bryant, the vice president for sales operations at Volvo Car USA. This helps give retailers the ability to valuate trade ins quickly, and cost effectively, as well as check the condition of customer cars coming in for service.
The programme is being launched at select retailers on the East Coast. The company ultimately hopes a majority of its 280 independent retail locations in the US will install the new automated systems.
UVeye and Volvo Cars have collaborated since 2019 when the automaker became a strategic investor in the company through the Volvo Cars Tech Fund. Since then, the automaker also has installed UVeye body-inspection scanners on its assembly lines for quality assurance.
Volvo retailers can install three basic UVeye inspection systems:
• Helios – An underbody scanner that detects a wide range of problems from frame damage to oil leakage and corrosion.
• Artemis – A tyre system that quickly identifies tyre brand, basic specifications, air pressure, tread depth, sidewall damage and even whether a vehicle’s tyres are mismatched.
• Atlas – A system that provides 360-degree scans of the exterior and detects damage such as dents, scratches and rust on critical components such as bumpers, mirrors, door locks, grilles and windows.
These new systems can create digital “vehicle health” reports with photos that can be shared with each customer. These reports allow the dealer to include their customers in the inspection process.
Volvo Cars sees opportunities for “all sorts of applications” for the new technology, including its use for vehicle trade-in appraisals.
“An automated system can help resolve problems,” Bryant says. “It shows the vehicle’s actual condition. The result is that customers will be able to see flaws such as a rusty tailpipe that they didn’t know about. And they’ll also know the retailer is being upfront with them.”