Volvo’s bold plan to go all electric

Every Volvo launched from 2019 will have an electric motor, it’s been announced.

Håkan Samuelsson, President and Chief Executive of Volvo Cars, made the historic pledge, placing electrification at the core of the Chinese-owned company’s future business.

For Volvo, it marks the end of an era of cars that have only an internal combustion engine (ICE) and places electrification at the core of its future business.

Volvo Cars will introduce a portfolio of electrified cars across its model range, embracing fully electric cars, plug-in hybrid and mild-hybrid cars.

Leading the charge

It will launch five fully electric cars between 2019 and 2021, three of which will be Volvo models, while the other two will be high-performance electrified cars from Polestar, Volvo’s performance arm.

“This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car,” said Samuelsson.

“This is about the customer. People increasingly demand electrified cars, and we want to respond to our customers’ current and future needs.”

The decision follows a recent announcement that Volvo Cars will turn Polestar into a new separately branded electrified global high-performance car company.