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Volvo becomes very first major car company to switch to only electrical and hybrid vehicles
From 2019, all fresh Volvo cars will have electrified or hybrid engines, the Swedish auto manufacturer announced today.
The stir makes Volvo the very first of the major car companies to commit to phasing out the internal combustion engine and going all-electric.
Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo Cars president and chief executive, said the decision to concentrate on electrification was taken mostly in response to consumer request.
“This is about the customer,” said Samuelsson. “People increasingly request electrified cars, and we want to react to our customers’ current and future needs.”
“This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car.”
Volvo’s decision comes after German legislative bods moved to ban petrol-powered cars from sale by 2030, providing a window into potential future regulations across the European Union.
This would effectively phase out vehicles with internal combustion engines – which generate power through the hot gases produced by the searing of fossil fuels – from sale in thirteen years’ time.
At a press conference this afternoon, Samuelsson said that manufacturers still focusing on internal combustion engines would likely fight to meet future EU targets.
“We will meet the requirements in the EU until two thousand twenty with the products we have now,” he said. “But we believe the [future] targets will not be possible to meet with only internal combustion engines.”
Related story
Germany moves to ban internal combustion engine by 2030
Volvo’s plans will see the company launch five fresh fully electrical cars inbetween two thousand nineteen and two thousand twenty one – two of these from Polestar, Volvo’s spectacle car arm.
These models will also come in hybrid variants, ranging from plug-in hybrids to mild hybrids. The latter are close to conventional combustion engines, only using the electrical motor to override during braking, cruising and restarting.
Both petrol and diesel hybrids will be available. Volvo says this represents “one of the broadest electrified car offerings of any car maker”.
Tesla is the only car manufacturer that is presently all-electric. The Elon Musk-headed company, which unveiled its very first car in 2008, has only ever made vehicles that are electrical.
Volvo Cars, which been wielded by Chinese auto manufacturers Geely since 2010, presently sells some plug-in hybrid models but not a fully electrical vehicle.
Jaguar, Volkswagen, BMW and Nissan are among the companies to have already released one hundred per cent electrical models, putting Volvo seemingly a step behind.
The manufacturer has also recently been exploring self-driving technology, both independently and through a partnership with Uber.
It plans to have driverless vehicles ready by 2020. Albeit the managing director of Volvo Australia, Kevin McCann, recently told ABC, that getting the system to recognise kangaroos was proving to be a challenge.
Volvo becomes very first car company to switch to only electrical and hybrid
Dezeen Magazine
Go after:
Volvo becomes very first major car company to switch to only electrified and hybrid vehicles
From 2019, all fresh Volvo cars will have electrical or hybrid engines, the Swedish auto manufacturer announced today.
The stir makes Volvo the very first of the major car companies to commit to phasing out the internal combustion engine and going all-electric.
Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo Cars president and chief executive, said the decision to concentrate on electrification was taken mostly in response to consumer request.
“This is about the customer,” said Samuelsson. “People increasingly request electrified cars, and we want to react to our customers’ current and future needs.”
“This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car.”
Volvo’s decision comes after German legislative bods moved to ban petrol-powered cars from sale by 2030, providing a window into potential future regulations across the European Union.
This would effectively phase out vehicles with internal combustion engines – which generate power through the hot gases produced by the searing of fossil fuels – from sale in thirteen years’ time.
At a press conference this afternoon, Samuelsson said that manufacturers still focusing on internal combustion engines would likely fight to meet future EU targets.
“We will meet the requirements in the EU until two thousand twenty with the products we have now,” he said. “But we believe the [future] targets will not be possible to meet with only internal combustion engines.”
Related story
Germany moves to ban internal combustion engine by 2030
Volvo’s plans will see the company launch five fresh fully electrical cars inbetween two thousand nineteen and two thousand twenty one – two of these from Polestar, Volvo’s spectacle car arm.
These models will also come in hybrid variants, ranging from plug-in hybrids to mild hybrids. The latter are close to conventional combustion engines, only using the electrical motor to override during braking, cruising and restarting.
Both petrol and diesel hybrids will be available. Volvo says this represents “one of the broadest electrified car offerings of any car maker”.
Tesla is the only car manufacturer that is presently all-electric. The Elon Musk-headed company, which unveiled its very first car in 2008, has only ever made vehicles that are electrical.
Volvo Cars, which been possessed by Chinese auto manufacturers Geely since 2010, presently sells some plug-in hybrid models but not a fully electrified vehicle.
Jaguar, Volkswagen, BMW and Nissan are among the companies to have already released one hundred per cent electrical models, putting Volvo seemingly a step behind.
The manufacturer has also recently been exploring self-driving technology, both independently and through a partnership with Uber.
It plans to have driverless vehicles ready by 2020. Albeit the managing director of Volvo Australia, Kevin McCann, recently told ABC, that getting the system to recognise kangaroos was proving to be a challenge.