Spotify is coming to cars, starting with Volvo

It might not be here in time for you driving home for Christmas, but Spotify is coming to the car.

Fellow Swede Volvo will be the first to beam tunes through the air to the car stereo. Volvo's vice president of Electrical and Electronic Systems Engineering told Wired it'll be adding the music streaming service to its fleet imminently, though he didn't give any dates.

Ericsson -- another Swedish company -- will provide its Connected Vehicle Cloud service for Volvo, which will allow the Spotify integration. Spotify, Volvo, Ericsson -- all we need is Ikea getting involved and we've got a full-on Swedish love-in.

Ericsson's service is very much an enabler, allowing your car to be connected in the first place. It uses your smart phone's data connection too, so you shouldn't have to shell out any extra if you get through the whole Now That's What I Call Music series during a tailback.

Volvo has been using its own On Call telematics system for about a decade now. Using a smart phone app, you can lock your car remotely, for example. Though you need a modem in your motor, and hence have to pay for a second data connection. Which is why Ericsson's service is good news for music-loving motorists.

Ericsson's Connected Vehicle Cloud will come to other cars too, meaning we could all soon be nodding along to Spotify in our jam jars. "We are going to try and work with different industry players," said Paolo Colella, Ericsson's head of Consulting and Systems Integration. "We will try to spread the use of these applications to automakers and in other areas."

With 4G rolling out properly to the UK next year, music streaming should be simpler than ever. Here's hoping Spotify can come to the car soon on these shores. Then you won't be limited to a stack of old CDs in the glovebox next time you take a road trip.

Would you like to see Spotify enabled in-car? What would be first on your playlist? Chris Rea? Or is it just me? Let me know in the comments, or on Facebook.