Volvo is committing themselves to electricity in a big way. By 2019, the automaker will only launch EVs, hybrids, and mild hybrid vehicles.
“This is about the customer,” said Volvo Cars CEO Håkan Samuelsson in a release. “People increasingly demand electrified cars and we want to respond to our customers’ current and future needs.”
Moving away from a lineup dominated by pure gas and diesel cars represents a big change for the automaker, which hasn’t yet launched a fully electric vehicle. To make up for lost time, Volvo will introduce five EVs between 2019 and 2021, three of which will be Volvo models and two of which are destined for the high-performance Polestar brand. Although we don’t know much else about Volvo’s plans, we do know the first Volvo EV goes on sale in 2019 and will sit on the Compact Modular Architecture designed for electrification.
In addition to five EVs, Volvo will offer a range of gas and diesel plug-in hybrids throughout the lineup. Mild hybrid cars will also be available, although the timeline surrounding the introduction of these vehicles is unclear. By 2025, Volvo plans to have sold a cumulative total of 1 million electrified vehicles, just one of the automaker’s ambitious goals for the coming decade. With the help of new autonomous driving features, the automaker vows to end all deaths and serious injuries in its vehicles by 2020.
