Photo: Volvo
It was March 2017 when the chief executive of Volvo suggested to the automotive media that diesel engine development will soon grind to a halt. How soon? How about now, starting with the all-new S60 sedan that’s due to go official this spring?
Hakan Samuelsson explains that the future of Volvo “is electric and we will no longer develop a new generation of diesel engines.” To this effect, the Swedish automaker “will phase out cars with only an internal combustion engine, with petrol hybrid versions as a transitional option as we move towards full electrification.”
Come 2019, every Volvo in the lineup will be available as a mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or battery-powered electric vehicle. Regarding the oil-chugging enthusiasts out there, the company didn’t reveal when they’ll pull out diesel options from the lineup. According to German publication Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the year of discontinuation for the compression-ignition engine could be 2023 at the latest.
Turning our attention back to the S60, the newcomer is described as being a “premium mid-size sports sedan” based on the Scalable Product Architecture of the V60, XC60, XC90, S90, and V90. According to Volvo, the list of engine options will include the four-cylinder Drive-E in different states of tune, as well as two plug-in hybrid drivetrains (the T6 Twin Engine AWD and T8 Twin Engine AWD).
Come 2019, “mild-hybrid versions will follow” in both Europe and the United States. Production of the 2019 Volvo S60 will kick off in the fall of 2018 at the Charleston plant in South Carolina, which is tooled up for SPA-based vehicle production. It’s from here that Europe and other markets will get the S60.
In the long run, Volvo’s automotive division hopes that fully electric vehicles will make up 50 percent of global sales by 2025. China is where Volvo will manufacture its first-ever EV starting in 2019, and the place where Polestar will assemble the plug-in hybrid Polestar 1.
Come 2019, every Volvo in the lineup will be available as a mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or battery-powered electric vehicle. Regarding the oil-chugging enthusiasts out there, the company didn’t reveal when they’ll pull out diesel options from the lineup. According to German publication Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the year of discontinuation for the compression-ignition engine could be 2023 at the latest.
Turning our attention back to the S60, the newcomer is described as being a “premium mid-size sports sedan” based on the Scalable Product Architecture of the V60, XC60, XC90, S90, and V90. According to Volvo, the list of engine options will include the four-cylinder Drive-E in different states of tune, as well as two plug-in hybrid drivetrains (the T6 Twin Engine AWD and T8 Twin Engine AWD).
Come 2019, “mild-hybrid versions will follow” in both Europe and the United States. Production of the 2019 Volvo S60 will kick off in the fall of 2018 at the Charleston plant in South Carolina, which is tooled up for SPA-based vehicle production. It’s from here that Europe and other markets will get the S60.
In the long run, Volvo’s automotive division hopes that fully electric vehicles will make up 50 percent of global sales by 2025. China is where Volvo will manufacture its first-ever EV starting in 2019, and the place where Polestar will assemble the plug-in hybrid Polestar 1.
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