Volvo (and Nils Bohlin, the engineer who invented it) , it will be remembered, gave the motoring world the seatbelt which has saved over a million lives around the world since the 1960s. Though a seemingly simple device, it has undergone improvements over the years to make its restraint more effective, especially with the advent of airbags.
Now, the Swedish automaker (owned by Geely) has come up with a major improvement with world-first technology that can further enhance safety for everyone in real-world traffic situations. To make its debut in the Volvo EX60 in 2026, the new multi-adaptive seatbelt is designed to better protect people by adapting to traffic variations and also the person wearing it.
The new seatbelt 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.
Modern seatbelts use load-limiters to control how much force the belt applies on the human body during a crash. This new seatbelt expands the load-limiting profiles from 3 to 11 and increases the possible number of settings, enabling it to optimise performance for each situation and individual.
Unlike traditional systems, the new multi-adaptive seatbelt can utilise data from different sensors, including exterior, interior and crash sensors. In less than a blink of an eye, the car’s system analyses the unique characteristics of a crash – such as direction, speed, and passenger posture – and shares that information with the seatbelt. Based on this data, the system selects the most appropriate setting.
The capabilities of the new multi-adaptive seatbelt are designed to continuously improve via over-the-air software updates. As Volvo Cars gathers more data and insights, the car can improve its understanding of the occupants, adding new scenarios and response strategies.
Actually, adapting the seatbelt to the wearer’s height was also something Volvo had an innovative idea for with the 850 in the 1990s. While there were seatbelts that were height-adjustable, Volvo provided a seatbelt which automatically adjusted to the different heights by a special slot at the upper anchorage point.
“The world first multi-adaptive seatbelt 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,” said Asa Haglund, Head of Volvo Cars Safety Centre. “This marks a major upgrade to the modern 3-point seatbelt, a Volvo invention introduced in 1959, estimated to have saved over a million lives.”
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