Volvo is committing itself to an ambitious plan to overhaul the way it powers its cars by introducing only fully electric or hybrid-powered vehicles, beginning in 2019. While Volvo hybrids now are significantly more expensive than their traditional counterparts, the automaker said it can change that, though not for some time.
Volvo S90
“We believe that enhancing our cars with electrification will make them more desirable,”
Volvo spokesman Russell Datz said Wednesday.
“People will not want a pure [internal combustion engine] car when they can have one with better efficiency, lower emissions, and more performance, all at an equal or lower cost.
“Pricing for the technologies are coming down, helped by technological advances and considerable investments across the industry,” Datz added. Still, he noted, reaching “the break-even between internal combustion engines and plug-in hybrids will take some time and plug-ins will remain a premium option for the near future.”
In its release Wednesday, Volvo said it will introduce five new electric or hybrid models by 2021, three under the Volvo name and two under the company’s Polestar performance car brand.
“This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car,” Hakan Samuelson, Volvo’s president and chief executive, said in a statement. “Volvo Cars has stated that it plans to have sold a total of [1 million] electrified cars [worldwide] by 2025. When we said it, we meant it. This is how we are going to do it.”
Read more: MSN