Volvo Group will host its inaugural Innovation Summit in London on May 16, focusing on ‘Smart cities – infrastructure and transport of the future‘.

Moderated by Richard Westcott, the BBC‘s transport correspondent, the event will gather leading people from government, major transport systems, industry bodies and manufacturing to examine the role that innovation in commercial transport, including automation, electromobility and connectivity, will play in the cities of tomorrow.

The London event is the first in a series of similar summits to be held around the world, including in Brussels and Beijing, during 2017. The Innovation Summit is designed to further the debate and introduce new thinking on prominent current issues, including air quality and pollution, congestion, health, and road safety. Speakers at the event include Matthew Hudson, head of technology and data strategy at Transport for London, Terri Wills, CEO of World Green Building Council, and Lars Stenqvist, chief technology officer at Volvo Group.

The Volvo Group will also demonstrate some of its latest, innovations in research and development, including a fully electric city bus, autonomous refuse truck, and fully electric compact excavator concept.

“Issues such as air quality and road safety are rightly gaining in prominence, both politically and socially, particularly in densely populated cities, such as London,” says Stenqvist.

“We believe that technological innovation, including automation, electromobility and connectivity, has significant potential to address these issues. For that to happen it is important to keep the discussion moving forward, stimulating changes that make people safer, healthier and to mitigate transport‘s impact on the environment. This summit brings together influential individuals, decision makers and organisations that can affect this type of positive change in the UK, as we all strive to find an answer to the key transport challenges of the future.”