Volvo has committed to making its entire model line-up fully electric by 2030, accelerating its plans to phase out combustion engined vehicles - and will also move sales of all its EV models online. The announcement comes ahead of Volvo launching its second electric car later today (Tuesday).
In 2019 the Swedish firm, owned by the Chinese Geely group, committed to becoming a fully electric car brand within 20 years, with company boss Hakan Samuelsson saying at the time that customer demand would set the exact timetable. That included the goal of making half of its sales EVs by 2025, with the rest plug-in hybrid.
Volvo’s target to become fully electric within nine years marks an acceleration of that target, which the firm says is driven by strong early demand for its first EV, the XC40 Recharge P8 and the expectation that legislation and the expansion of charging infrastructure will increase customer demand for EVs. The UK, for example, has committed to banning sales of virtually all non-zero emission new cars from 2030 onwards.
“To remain successful, we need profitable growth. So instead of investing in a shrinking business, we choose to invest in the future – electric and online,” said Samuelsson. “We are fully focused on becoming a leader in the fast-growing premium electric segment.”
Henrik Green, Volvo’s chief technology officer, added that “there is no long-term future for cars with an internal combustion engine.”
Volvo has already taken steps towards a full electric shift, including merging its combustion engine programme with sister firm Geely’s, and divesting that into a standalone company.
Volvo revealed its first electric car, the XC40 Recharge P8, in late 2019, and customer deliveries have just started in the UK. It will reveal its second EV, which it has described as a “new model in the 40 Series”, later today.
Volvo as released a graphic showing its 'mid-decade electric portfolio', which confirms that it is aiming to offer seven full EVs by then, which include the XC40 Recharge and the new 40 Series model. The firm is also working on a small model based on Geely's new SEA electric architecture that will sit underneath the 40 series models, and will likely introduce a 20 series.
The firm has also confirmed it will launch a full electric version of the next XC90, which is due next year, and will likely also develop an electric version of the XC60.
Volvo to shift to online-only sales for EVs
Volvo will only sell its new line-up of electric cars online, as part of a series of steps that the firm says will simplify its sales models.
The firm has committed to investing heavily in its online sales systems, and will also switch to "transparent and set pricing models" as part of moves to "radically reduce complexity" in its product line-up.
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