Volvo has announced it is building a new tech hub in Krakow, Poland that will play a crucial role in the company's transformation into a fully electric automaker by 2030. The hub will open by the year's end employing 120 engineers at first, with the goal of hiring over 500 by 2025.

The company has big electric plans, and that all started with the impressive EX90 that was unveiled just a few months ago. It's an advanced and attractive first offering and coincides with the company's belief that getting ahead of the curve with electric vehicles is vital. This new tech hub will take full responsibility for developing important key features for all future electric models, meaning the company's future is in its hands, so a lot is riding on its success.

Poland has been up and coming in the tech space in recent years, and Volvo seems to have noticed. The company says that with this investment in Krakow, it would become the first carmaker with a major engineering presence in the region. It will also have the added benefit of not being too far from the company's headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, with it being just a couple of hours away by plane.

Since the company is leaning so heavily into electric car development, it means it needs to be a leader in technology and other innovations. The company wants to ensure that it has the right software in its vehicles that allows owners to access a wide range of safety and functional features.

Most of this will be done in-house, mainly thanks to this new tech hub, and will be a part of the company's future focus on software updates instead of just facelifts. This means mid-cycle updates to the software that will substantially change the vehicle's driveability in ways we've only started seeing in recent years.

"We're a purpose-led and technology-driven company, so our new generation of Volvo cars will be more than just transport," said Jim Rowan, our chief executive. "They'll be computers on wheels, designed to be updated over the air with new software. That means our Krakow tech hub and growing our in-house software development capabilities are key to our future success."

This future success is going to see a lot of innovation. Most of it will be good, but other parts have the unfortunate chance of going sour for the consumer, the biggest of which is when more paid subscriptions start finding their way into cars. Volvo already sees this as another form of revenue, so it's a "when," not an "if."

Luckily, the company knows not to charge subscription fees for things currently enjoyed for free in vehicles. If only other automakers had as much sense.