Volvo Cars has introduced a major upgrade to one of its most iconic safety features—the seatbelt. The company’s new multi-adaptive safety belt, a world-first innovation, is designed to offer smarter, more personalized protection in real-world traffic conditions.
New multi-adaptive safety belt - exploded view. Image Credit: Volvo Cars
Set to debut in the fully electric Volvo EX60 in 2026, this next-generation seatbelt uses real-time data from the car’s advanced sensor suite to adjust to both driving conditions and the individual characteristics of each occupant.
Unlike conventional seatbelts, the new system gathers input from both interior and exterior sensors to tailor protection based on factors like a person’s height, weight, body shape, and seating position. For instance, in a high-impact collision, a larger occupant might receive a higher belt load setting to reduce the risk of head injury. In a milder crash, a smaller person would receive a lower load to help avoid rib fractures.
This adaptive performance is made possible by expanding the number of load-limiting profiles from three to eleven, giving the belt far greater flexibility in managing crash forces. And because it’s connected to Volvo’s over-the-air software platform, the system can continue to evolve, improving with new insights and data.
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. 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.
Åsa Haglund, Head, Volvo Cars Safety Centre
Leveraging Data for Superior Safety
This latest innovation builds on over 50 years of Volvo’s safety research and a database containing detailed information from more than 80,000 real-world crashes. That depth of knowledge has helped the company move beyond standard crash test protocols to develop safety features grounded in real-life driving conditions.
Driven by the belief that cars should be equally safe for everyone, regardless of size, body shape, or seating position, Volvo has continued to pioneer adaptive technologies that better protect all occupants.
Conventional belts use load limiters to reduce the force on the body during a crash. The new system enhances this concept by offering a wider range of load-limiting settings, enabling it to fine-tune its response to both the situation and the person.
In milliseconds—faster than a blink—the car's system processes data from crash sensors, occupant positioning, and vehicle dynamics (like speed and crash direction), selecting the most appropriate safety belt setting to deliver the best possible protection.
Better Over Time
The multi-adaptive safety belt is designed to get smarter over time. As more data is collected and analyzed, the system can learn to handle new crash scenarios, better understand occupant behavior, and update its response strategies via OTA software.
The belt is also a key part of Volvo Cars’ wider safety ecosystem, operating in sync with airbags, occupant detection systems, and driver assistance features. This coordination helps deliver more effective protection while reducing the likelihood of secondary injuries.
Testing and development have taken place at the Volvo Cars Safety Centre crash lab, which marks its 25th anniversary this year. This state-of-the-art facility allows engineers to replicate virtually any traffic accident and perform tests that go well beyond regulatory requirements, supporting Volvo’s longstanding position as a global leader in vehicle safety.