Car manufacturer Volvo Cars announces that every Volvo launched from 2019 will feature an electric motor. In some cases, these will be hybrid vehicles, while in others they will be fully electric vehicles.
Håkan Samuelsson, chief executive of Volvo Cars, says Volvo Cars is taking this step with the customer in mind. The company sees the demand for electric cars growing and wants to respond to both current and future customer needs with its focus on electric vehicles. "This announcement marks the end of combustion-only cars," Samuelsson said. Volvo Cars sets a goal of having a total of 1 million electric vehicles on the market by 2025. The company also announced its intention to operate completely climate-neutral by 2025.
Three types of vehicles
The company is working on a portfolio of vehicles equipped with an electric motor. These include three types of vehicles:
- fully electric cars, which are exclusively equipped with an electric motor.
- plug-in hybrid vehicles that feature both a combustion and electric motor. These vehicles can usually run on only the electric motor. The batteries in plug-in hybrid vehicles can be charged using a plug.
- mild hybrid vehicles, where the electric motor supports the combustion engine. These vehicles cannot run on only the electric motor.
Five all-electric vehicles
Volvo Cars announces plans to launch a total of five different all-electric vehicles between 2019 and 2021. These include three models from Volvo and two from Polestar, a former Volvo tuner that now operates as an independent brand. Details about these models are not yet known.
Polestar, incidentally, will henceforth focus exclusively on all-electric vehicles. Given this company's background as a tuner, it is no surprise that these will all be performance models.
Focus on electric vehicles
Volvo Cars' move is part of a long-standing trend to switch from petrol and diesel engines to electric engines. Norwegian political parties, for instance, already reached an agreement in 2016 to curb the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2025. In France, Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot wants to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars. India also aims to allow only the sale of electric vehicles from 2030.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: Volvo Cars
Source: AFP
