Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Today, Volvo Cars unveils a major safety improvement to the safety belt. The new multi-adaptive safety belt is a world-first technology aimed to further enhance safety for everyone in real-world traffic situations.
Debuting in the upcoming fully electric Volvo EX60 in 2026, the new safety belt is designed to better protect people by adapting to traffic variations and the person wearing it, thanks to real-time data from the car’s advanced sensors.
The new multi-adaptive safety belt can use data input from interior and exterior sensors to customise protection, adapting the setting based on the situation and individual’s profiles, such as their height, weight, body shape and seating position. For example, a larger occupant in a serious crash will receive a higher belt load setting to help reduce the risk of head injury. While a smaller occupant in a milder crash will receive a lower belt load setting to reduce the risk of rib fractures.
This is achieved by significantly increasing the number of so-called load-limiting profile variations, which manage the force applied to the occupants in the event of an accident. And thanks to over-the-air software updates, it gets better over time.
“The world first multi-adaptive safety belt is another milestone for automotive safety and a great example of how we leverage real-time data with the ambition to help save millions of more lives,” says Åsa Haglund, head of Volvo Cars Safety Centre. “This marks a major upgrade to the modern three-point safety belt, a Volvo invention introduced in 1959, estimated to have saved over a million lives.”
Today, Volvo Cars unveils a major safety improvement to the safety belt. The new multi-adaptive safety belt is a world-first technology aimed to further enhance safety for everyone in real-world traffic situations.
Debuting in the upcoming fully electric Volvo EX60 in 2026, the new safety belt is designed to better protect people by adapting to traffic variations and the person wearing it, thanks to real-time data from the car’s advanced sensors.
The new multi-adaptive safety belt can use data input from interior and exterior sensors to customise protection, adapting the setting based on the situation and individual’s profiles, such as their height, weight, body shape and seating position. For example, a larger occupant in a serious crash will receive a higher belt load setting to help reduce the risk of head injury. While a smaller occupant in a milder crash will receive a lower belt load setting to reduce the risk of rib fractures.
This is achieved by significantly increasing the number of so-called load-limiting profile variations, which manage the force applied to the occupants in the event of an accident. And thanks to over-the-air software updates, it gets better over time.
“The world first multi-adaptive safety belt is another milestone for automotive safety and a great example of how we leverage real-time data with the ambition to help save millions of more lives,” says Åsa Haglund, head of Volvo Cars Safety Centre. “This marks a major upgrade to the modern three-point safety belt, a Volvo invention introduced in 1959, estimated to have saved over a million lives.”
