Photo: Volvo
Joining the long list of carmakers painting a bright and glorious green future for the world, be it automotive or otherwise, Volvo announced on Wednesday it plans to accelerate its development of electric vehicles of all types.
The stated goal of the company is that by 2025, half of the Volvo vehicles sold to be electric, a bald expansion of the previous commitment of having either a mild hybrid, a plug-in hybrid or a battery electric vehicle for every new model releases from 2019 onwards.
The big bet made by Volvo relies heavily on the Chinese market, a region notoriously known for its insatiable appetite for electric cars. By the same year Volvo targets this major shift, China plans to make EVs account for 20 percent of industry sales, or roughly seven million vehicles.
More than that, China is Volvo’s largest individual market, accounting for over 100,000 units of the vehicles sold last year. The 2017 performance was an achievement in itself, as it marked the first time Volvo passes the 1K mark on a single market.
Present at the Auto China 2018 event in Beijing, Volvo’s features in its display booth only plugged-in cars. This is the first time, says Volvo, when only plug-in hybrid cars (PHEVs) are being shown at an auto event. These PHEVs are the XC90, XC60 and the new XC40.
The XC40 was named back in March this year’s European Car of the Year, after outpacing the Seat Ibiza (ranked second) and the BMW 5 Series (ranked third) and landing the Swedish manufacturer its first title of this kind.
“Last year we made a commitment to electrification in preparation for an era beyond the internal combustion engine,” said Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo CEO.
“Today we reinforce and expand that commitment in the world’s leading market for electrified cars. China’s electric future is Volvo Cars’ electric future.”
The big bet made by Volvo relies heavily on the Chinese market, a region notoriously known for its insatiable appetite for electric cars. By the same year Volvo targets this major shift, China plans to make EVs account for 20 percent of industry sales, or roughly seven million vehicles.
More than that, China is Volvo’s largest individual market, accounting for over 100,000 units of the vehicles sold last year. The 2017 performance was an achievement in itself, as it marked the first time Volvo passes the 1K mark on a single market.
Present at the Auto China 2018 event in Beijing, Volvo’s features in its display booth only plugged-in cars. This is the first time, says Volvo, when only plug-in hybrid cars (PHEVs) are being shown at an auto event. These PHEVs are the XC90, XC60 and the new XC40.
The XC40 was named back in March this year’s European Car of the Year, after outpacing the Seat Ibiza (ranked second) and the BMW 5 Series (ranked third) and landing the Swedish manufacturer its first title of this kind.
“Last year we made a commitment to electrification in preparation for an era beyond the internal combustion engine,” said Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo CEO.
“Today we reinforce and expand that commitment in the world’s leading market for electrified cars. China’s electric future is Volvo Cars’ electric future.”
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