Volvo will eventually pull the plug on plug-in hybrids. Techzle has learned that. The Swedish brand is shifting its focus to mild hybrid and all-electric powertrains.
Anyone who finds electric driving interesting, but does not want to switch completely, can now contact Volvo. In the near future that will change in a sense. Plug-in hybrids will disappear from the range, Techzle has learned. The role of the combustion engine is also changing: with the disappearance of plug-ins, Volvos with a combustion engine on board will only continue to be supplied with support from mild-hybrid technology. So there will always be some form of electrical power available. In addition, fully electric drive will play a greater role.
Removing plug-ins and switching to mild hybrids and fully electric drive is relatively easy; after all, the current modular CMA base used by Volvo and sister Polestar is also suitable for combustion engines – including mild-hybrid technology – and for fully electric propulsion. In addition, parent company Geely is developing a new modular platform for EVs. This new platform will probably play a major role in setting up a fully electric range in addition to the mild hybrids.
It is still a bit of a coffee grief to see how Volvo and Geely will tackle the larger models such as the S60, S90 and XC90, when they are offered with both a combustion engine and an electric powertrain in the future. There seem to be two options: either one comes with a CMA platform-inspired base for larger models, or one uses the aforementioned EV platform. In the latter case, the larger cars would only be fully electrically powered. That still seems a bit early, but never say never. We suspect that we will see it with the introduction of the new XC90, in roughly two years.