Volvo has surprised many in the automotive world in recent years by its mere survival, and by its emergence as a relevant innovator in an industry where change is accelerating.
Today, the Swedish brand owned by Chinese automaker Geely made its biggest step yet: announcing that it will stop using the conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) beginning with its 2019 models.
In a major redefinition of the Volvo brand, all future Volvo vehicles from that point on will be fully electric (propelled either by batteries); or a plug-in hybrid car (using a twin engine powertrain combining a gasoline engine with batteries); or a “mild hybrid” car (48 volts).
According to its announcement, the Volvo Group “will launch five fully electric cars between 2019 and 2021, three of which will be Volvo models and two of which will be high performance electrified cars from Polestar, Volvo Cars’ performance car arm.”
“These five cars will be supplemented by a range of petrol and diesel plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid 48 volt options on all models, representing one of the broadest electrified car offerings of any car maker. This means that there will in future be no Volvo cars without an electric motor, as pure ICE cars are gradually phased out and replaced by ICE cars that are enhanced with electrified options.”
Håkan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo Cars, stated that the move “marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car.” He reiterated his promise that Volvo would sell one million electric cars and hybrids by 2025. “When we said it, we meant it. This is how we are going to do it.”
“This is about the customer,” he added. “People increasingly demand electrified cars and we want to respond to our customers’ current and future needs. You can now pick and choose whichever electrified Volvo you wish.”
It’s also a statement on climate change and Volvo Cars’ commitment to sustainability, with its press release noting:
“The announcement underlines Volvo Cars’ commitment to minimising its environmental impact and making the cities of the future cleaner. Volvo Cars is focused on reducing the carbon emissions of both its products as well as its operations. It aims to have climate-neutral manufacturing operations by 2025.”
It may be premature to suggest that Volvo’s move presages the end of the internal combustion engine that has, in essentially unchanged form, powered the world’s automobiles (and many other forms of transportation) for a century.
But it’s clear that the auto industry is reaching a point where it will be able to provide hybrid or all-electric vehicles at or below the same prices as for gasoline-only versions of the same vehicles, which— along with increasing concern about the role of automotive emissions in climate change— is likely to propel consumers past a “tipping point” of preference for EVs that they certainly haven’t reached yet.
Analysts were quick to note that Volvo will be selling internal combustion vehicles for some time to come.
“Volvo’s plan should not be confused with a short-term transition to total electrification, but with the total sales volumes anticipated by the brand, cadence of new model introductions over this timeframe, plus existing models with electrifications,” said Ian Fletcher, IHS Markit principal analyst. “The automaker seems well on course for selling 1 million electrified vehicles by 2025.”
Even as the number of electric nameplates offered by other automakers also proliferates, who knows how the Volvo brand might break through the clutter because of its commitment to the new position it has just staked out on gasoline engines?
The company has been an effective player since Ford sold Volvo to Geely, which is based in China, in 2010. Not only did Geely’s capital help Volvo develop a spate of new models, but Volvo already has surged into the first tier of automakers that are wrestling with how to bring self-driving vehicles to market. Volvo also is building a US assembly plant.
The decision follows this month’s announcement that Volvo Cars will turn Polestar into a new separately-branded electrified global high performance car company. Thomas Ingenlath, Senior Vice President Design at Volvo Cars, will lead Polestar as Chief Executive Officer.
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