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How Volvo Plans to Rival Tesla with a Flagship EV That’s Coming by 2019

With electric vehicles now moving from the niche corner of the industry into the mainstream area, Volvo is the latest carmaker to jump the electron-powered bandwagon.
Volvo XC Coupe Concept 1 photo
Photo: Volvo
The Swedes have already started enforcing their green propulsion plan with the XC90 T8 plug-in hybrid, but their eco line-up will be led by a mid-sized EV that’s expected to land by 2019.

"The time has come for electric cars to cease being a niche technology and enter the mainstream," Volvo President and CEO, Hakan Samuelsson, said. "We are confident that in two years' time 10% of Volvo's global sales will be electrified cars."

Volvo's green halo car should come with a driving range of over 300 miles (480 km), but that’s the only major piece of information available for now. The shape of the vehicle, however, remains unknown, with both a crossover and a sedan being plausible - not the XC Coupe Concept shown above, though.

However, the next move in Volvo’s eco plan will see the automaker introducing plug-in hybrid incarnations of its 60- and 90-series models based on the Scalable Platform Architecture (SCA). With the XC90 already on the market, the S90 (check out the latest S90 spyshots here) is next in line to get out the door.

Aside from an all-electric version of the future S90 or XC60 successor, Volvo will also introduce plug-in hybrid front-wheel-drive models. These will make up its future 40-series range, a family consisting of a replacement for the S40 and V40, as well as a compact XC40 crossover.

Underneath the sheet metal of the 40-series models, we’ll find a new Compact Modular Architecture (CMA).

Volvo has ambitious growth plans, with the company willing to push its sales from the expected 2015 level of 500,000 units to 800,000 units by 2020. You know, the year that also marks the company’s safety goal, with the carmaker aiming for no deaths in new Volvos by then.

Those of you who have read this and are worried about the go-fast part of Volvo's future need to remember that the carmaker has recently announced its World Touring Car Championship return. Polestar, anybody?
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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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