China’s Geely launches satellites for future Volvo, Lotus, Polestar autonomous cars

Chinese car giant Geely – which owns Volvo, Polestar and Lotus – has launched a batch of satellites designed to connect the next generation of fully-autonomous cars.

Operated by Geely's aerospace subsidiary Geespace, the first nine satellites have come online in low orbit around the Earth, as part of a fleet of 72 satellites due by 2025 – and a total of 240 in the years to follow.

Geely says the satellites will "provide centimetre accurate precise positioning and connectivity support for ... automotive brands in the Geely Holding portfolio", to "connect vehicles with vehicles and infrastructure with vehicles to realise true autonomous driving."

While no specific brand has been named, Geely Holding owns Volvo, Polestar, Lotus, Malaysia's Proton, London electric taxi maker LEVC, Geely's own brands (Geely, Lynk & Co, Geometry and Zeekr), and 50 per cent of Smart.

Geely has previously indicated plans to introduce hands-free, eyes-off Level 4 autonomous driving by 2025 – and the Lotus Eletre (above), Polestar 3 and other new Geely group models offer lidar sensors designed for Level 4 autonomy, once the software is available.

The Chinese giant says the "sustainably-developed" satellites each have a lifespan of five years, after which time "the satellites would propel themselves into earth’s atmosphere, where they will disintegrate without leaving any space debris."

In addition to enabling autonomous driving, Geely's satellites will also power a "one-stop logistics monitoring service", a new maritime water quality project, and the 2022 Asian Games sporting event (which Australia elected not to participate in).

The satellites will be managed by five ground stations in China, and will initially provide service coverage to "the Chinese market and the Asia-Pacific region", before expanding globally.

Geely's presence in Australia consists of the Volvo, Polestar and Lotus brands, though fellow subsidiary Lynk & Co has announced plans to reach local shores by 2025.