Highlights:
- Swedish automaker Volvo to only make EV by 2030
- On Tuesday, the company said it will phase out production of all cars with an internal combustion engine
- Volvo said if one wishes to buy an EV, they will have to buy it online
The Swedish automaker said it will only build Electric Vehicles (EV) by the year 2030, however, if anyone would want to buy him he/ she will have to buy it online.
Volvo, on Tuesday, said that it has started phasing out the production of all the cars with an internal combustion engine including the Hybrid cars.
Henrik Green, who is the Chief Technology Officer at Volvo, said, “There is no long-term future for cars with an internal combustion engine”.
The announcement from Volvo came in quick succession from that of General Motors (GM) who earlier, in 2021, pledged to make only battery-powered vehicles by the year 2035.
Volvo also said that while its all-Electric Vehicles will be sold exclusively online, the dealership will ““remain a crucial part of the customer experience and will continue to be responsible for a variety of important services such as selling, preparing, delivering and servicing cars.”
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As part of the company’s announcement on Tuesday, the Swedish automaker will soon unveil its second complete electric car which will be a follow-up to its last year’s XC40 Recharge, a compact SUV.
The automaker said that its goal is to have half of its global sales to be fully electric cars by the year 2025, with the remaining half made up of hybrids.
Automakers from all over the globe are now ramping up their production of the EV as charging technology improves and as the governments impose stricter pollution regulations.
Green said, “We are firmly committed to becoming an electric-only car maker,” and added, “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.”
Even though the number of Electric Vehicles getting available in the US is rising, the fully EV accounted for less than 2% of the new vehicle sales last year.
Americans have continued to spend record amounts on gas-powered trucks as well as SUVs.
Close to 2.5 million (25 lakh) Electric Vehicles were sold globally in 2020 and the industry analyst IHS Markit forecasts that to increase by 70% in 2021.
In 2020, Volvo sold almost 662,000 cars in close to 100 countries and as per the data from Autodata Corp., 107,626 of those vehicles were sold in the U.S alone.
Volvo, which was founded in the year 1927, has been owned by the Chinese firm Zhejiang Geely Holding Group since 2010.
