Volvo Bet Big On A Lidar Company. Why Is It Backing Off?

• Luminar faces potential bankruptcy as Volvo backs off its promise to make lidar standard in its flagship models.
• Volvo blamed "limited supply of the lidar hardware."
• Luminar has already warned investors that it may run out of cash by the end of Q1 2026.

Not long ago, Volvo and Luminar seemed like the perfect partnership. The Swedish automaker pushed a safety-first approach that used the startup's laser-based sensors to ensure its vehicles were safer than ever. Volvo believed in the approach so much that it even pledged to make the tech standard on its flagship electric EX90 SUV and ES90 sedan. Now it's backing off of that promise, and Luminar isn't happy.

Volvo told Reuters on Monday that it is officially discontinuing its relationship with Luminar. The company had originally announced last week that it was removing lidar as a standard feature from the EX90 and ES90, however it would live on as optional equipment.

The automaker said the decision to remove lidar as a standard feature was "due to limited supply of the lidar hardware." In a late Octoberregulatory filingspotted by TechCrunch, Luminar said that Volvo was terminating a five-year contract for its sensors, but didn't mention if hardware availability was a factor in the decision.

We reached out to Luminar and Volvo for more answers and will update this story if we hear back.

“Volvo Cars has made this decision to limit the company’s supply chain risk exposure and it is a direct result of Luminar’s failure to meet its contractual obligations to Volvo Cars,” Volvo said in a statement to TechCrunch.

Luminar is pretty peeved about the whole ordeal. Volvo is its biggest customer and the company is already hurting for cash. Now Volvo's backtracking could put it over the tipping point for bankruptcy. Luminar has defaulted on several of its loans and is looking to reach a resolution with its lenders, but warns investors that insolvency is a very real possibility. As such, it has laid off about a quarter of itself and is looking for buyers.

Luminar's regulatory filing notes that Volvo's breach has caused "significant damages" to Luminar's core business. It has suspended financial guidance for the remainder of the year and says that "there can be no assurance that the dispute will be resolved favorably or at all."

It's not clear if this will affect Volvo's sister company, Polestar, at this time.

Photo by: Volvo

This is just the latest in a difficult saga for Luminar. The company seemed to be in a good position with several manufacturer commitments from Volvo, Polestar, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and other brands.But the writing has been on the wall for a few months now—Luminar's founder, Austin Russell, abruptly resigned in May following the start of an ethics investigation. Its CFO, Thomas Fennimore, also stepped down last week after the Volvo announcement.

Taking a look at Luminar's financials also paints a better picture.

Currently, it has$429 million in debt with all liabilities adding up to more than half a billion dollars. The company made just$18.8 million in revenue so far this year, however, its costs of product and services add up to $26.8 million (meaning that it took a net loss of around $8 million selling its sensors under cost). It also posted $66.6 million in R&D losses for 2025.

At the end of October, the company had around $72 million of cash and marketable securities, however, its high cash-burn rate meant that Luminar will run out of money by early 2026 if nothing changes. And Volvo's pullback certainly doesn't help.

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