Swedish-Chinese carmaker Volvo has joined a growing number of global car manufacturers to embrace the transition to all-electric vehicles, announcing that it will sell only fully electric cars by 2030.
“There is no long-term future for cars with an internal combustion engine,” Henrik Green, chief technology officer for Volvo said in a statement.
“We are firmly committed to becoming an electric-only car maker and the transition should happen by 2030. It will allow us to meet the expectations of our customers and be a part of the solution when it comes to fighting climate change.”
Volvo’s announcement is a clear commitment to zero-emissions and to stop making – within the decade – any car that has an internal combustion engine, including hybrids.
It’s just the latest in a series of commitments made by global car makers in the last few weeks, including by GM, Jaguar Land Rover and Ford in response to the pressing need to slash emissions, and in response to government policies that limit emissions, in contrast to what is happening in Australia.
Norway has pledged to ban new petrol and diesel car sales by 2025, the UK and other European countries by 2030, Japan and California by 2035, while the US federal government has pledged to transition its entire fleet to electric – although it as yet to set a date. In Europe, carmakers have to pay huge fines if they do not meet strict vehicle emissions regulations.
Volvo’s announcement comes as the company unveils its first pure electric SUV, the C40 Recharge, which will join its XC40 Recharge which is set to be launched in Australia in August, and the electric offshoot Polestar’s Polestar 2 which will follow in 2022.
According to Håkan Samuelsson, chief executive of Volvo, the decision recognises that electric mobility is the future and that to remain relevant, a commitment to go all-electric is the only way to go.
“To remain successful, we need profitable growth. So instead of investing in a shrinking business, we choose to invest in the future – electric and online,” said Samuelsson in a statement.
“We are fully focused on becoming a leader in the fast-growing premium electric segment.”
Volvo already has a plan to roll out a number of all-electric vehicles: by 2025 it is aiming to sell 50% all-electric vehicles. By 2030, this will be only 100% battery electric vehicles.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model 3 and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.