Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson says he is “surprised” if his brand is not fully electric within the next ten years. He says that on the ‘Future of the Car’ summit of the Financial Times. A ‘soft’ deadline for the complete phasing out of fuel engines had not previously been mentioned.
Until now, it was known that Volvo had set itself the goal of making half of the cars it sells from EVs by 2025. Volvo CEO Samuelsson expects that the brand will no longer sell cars with an internal combustion engine by 2030. “I would be surprised if we don’t just deliver EVs from 2030,” said the CEO. He also says that Volvo is already switching to all-electric models “before anyone has any legal obligations.” Given that the United Kingdom and the Netherlands will ban the sale of new fuel cars from 2030 and more countries are likely to follow, it is therefore obvious that Volvo wants to respond to this earlier.
It is no open secret that Volvo is working hard on electrification. The brand is currently working on its own electric motors for use in the new SPA2 platform, which should serve as the basis for the next XC60, XC90, S90 and V90. The more compact models are then expected to be on the SEA platform of Geely. Volvo will eventually turn its back on plug-in hybrids, but it is not yet known exactly when. The range will then consist of petrol engines with mild-hybrid support and EVs, with Volvo gradually turning down the first category in the run-up to 2030. The new XC90, which will be in the pipeline in roughly two years, is the first concrete result of Volvo’s change of direction.