Volvo has announced that by 2019, it aims to have a 100% pure electric car, plus a new range of smaller hybrid cars.
Volvo also wants every car in its range to have a plug-in hybrid version, including its new XC90. This is due to the fact that the firm predicts 10% of its total car sales to be from both hybrid and electric cars, which is not an impossible prediction.
Volvo has already had success with plug-in hybrids across its range so an electric car would be the next reasonable step. Its Drive-E range of plug-in hybrids has been met with praise and has helped bring hybrid technology into the mainstream market.
“We believe that the time has come for electrified cars to cease being a niche technology and enter the mainstream. We are confident that by 2020, 10 per cent of Volvo’s global sales will be electrified cars,” said the President and CEO of Volvo Cars, Håkan Samuelsson.
This announcement has been called “one of the automotive industry’s most comprehensive electrification strategies” by Volvo so it is clearly proud to be leading the way forward.Â
Details about the forthcoming electric car are vague but expect it to be a hatchback shape, possibly even a new C-30 in order to take on rivals such as the VW Golf E and Ford Focus Electric. With this sector set to become one of the key stages in the electric movement, Volvo is keen to get its electric car perfected ahead of the competition.
There may also be the possibility (slim at the moment) of a fast performance electric car now that Volvo has bought Polestar, the Swedish tuning company. Polestar has already given us fast variations of Volvos so an electric hot hatch may not be as crazy as you imagine. Especially considering Volvo has stated previously that “Polestar will utilise Volvo’s twin engine electrification technology to develop next generation performance cars.” Anyone else want a clean, green speed machine? I know I do…
