Volvo announces to launch only electric and hybrid cars starting with 2019
Volvo Cars Group had announced that all models to be launched from 2019 shall be either electric or hybrid, thus signalling the possible end of company’s internal combustion engine cars, after nearly a century, Reuters reports.
Volvo, based on these plans, becomes the first major automaker to set a date for a total giving-up to internal combustion engines, even though the transition to electric cars production has long been a concern for the car industry, and Tesla Motors produced right from the start only electric cars.
“This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car”, the Volvo Cars chief executive, Hakan Samuelsson said in a press release, according to News.ro.
Five new models to be launched by the Group, between 2019 and 2021, will be fully electrical, out of which three will debut under the Volvo brand and two under the Polestar brand.
”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”, according to Volvo.
Volvo Cars has invested massively in the new models and factories, since the company was bought by the Chinese Zhejiang Geely Group from Ford Motor in 2010, and established a niche on the premium auto market dominated by companies such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
As part of the strategy, emerging technologies have been developed for high performance electric cars and, eventually, for self-driving cars.
