Volvo is set to build only plug-in electric and hybrid cars from 2019 with the premium Swedish-based car maker announcing an end to its era of petrol-only motor cars.
The announcement signals the end of cars that only have an internal combustion engine (ICE), with Volvo describing the announcement as “one of the most significant moves by any car maker to embrace electrification”.
Volvo will introduce a range of electrified cars across its model range; including fully electric cars, plug-in hybrid cars, and mild hybrid cars.
The car company will launch five fully electric cars between 2019 and 2021, three of which will be Volvo models while the other two will be high performance electrified cars from Polestar – Volvo Cars’ performance vehicle arm.
The five cars will be supplemented by a range of petrol and diesel plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid 48 volt options on all models. The portfolio of electric cars across its model range will represent one of the broadest electrified car offerings of any automaker.
The move to fully electric cars reflects the company’s perception of the inevitable end of solely combustion engine cars.
The automaker’s move to electric models by 2019 was a decision driven by customer demand, according to Volvo president and CEO Hakan Samuelsson.
“This is about the customer,” he said. “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.
“Volvo Cars has stated that it plans to have sold a total of 1 million electrified cars by 2025, when we said it we meant it, this is how we are going to do it.”
The company’s target of 1 million sales by 2025 signifies the Swedish automaker’s ambition to be a leader in the electric car industry and its desire to minimize the company’s environmental impact and contribute to making the cities of the future cleaner.
Full details of the range of electrified cars to be launched between 2019 and 2021 will be announced at a later date.
