IT’S plug in or nothing says Volvo as it announced today (July 05) that it will go all electric.
The significance of this will not be lost. From 2019 you will not be able to buy from new a Volvo with just an internal combustion engine.
Volvo says it is placing electrification at the core of its future business.
“This is about the customer,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars (below right). “People increasingly demand electrified cars, and we want to respond to our customers’ current and future needs. You can now pick and choose whichever electrified Volvo you wish.”
The future Volvo range will include a portfolio of electrified cars across its model range, from fully electric cars, to plug-in hybrid cars and mild-hybrid cars.
Volvo says it will launch five fully electric cars between 2019 and 2021, three of which will be Volvo models and two of which will be high-performance electrified cars from Polestar, the performance arm of Volvo. Full details of these models will be announced at a later date.
In addition to the five EVs, the range will be supplemented by a petrol and diesel plug-in hybrid and mild-hybrid 48-volt options on all models.
“This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car,” said Mr Samuelsson. “Volvo Cars has stated that it plans to have sold a total of 1m electrified cars by 2025. When we said it we meant it. This is how we are going to do it.”