Volvo’s going all-electric from 2019

Volvo recently made a big all-electric announcement about their future vehicles. The Swedish automaker has announced that every vehicle to be launched from 2019 onwards will be fitted with an electric motor.

Volvo is saying goodbye to internal combustion engines and is now placing electrification at the core of its future business.

It’s been over a century since the invention of the internal combustion engine so this comes as a very significant moment on the automotive history line.

Volvo’s President and CEO, Håkan Samuelsson, is reported to have said,

“This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car. This is about the customer. 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.”

Volvo’s all-electric range

Volvo Cars’ new portfolio is going to be filled with electrified cars across its model range. There will be fully electric cars, plug-in hybrids, and mild hybrid cars.

Volvo Cars will introduce five new all-electric cars between 2019 and 2021. From the five models, three will be Volvo models and two will be high-performance electrified cars from Polestar.

As per Volvo, “These five cars will be supplemented by a range of petrol and diesel plug in hybrid and mild hybrid (48 volt) derivatives in all model ranges, representing one of the broadest electrified car offerings of any car maker.”

There will be no Volvo car without an electric motor. Vehicles with pure internal combustion engines are being gradually phased out and replaced by internal combustion engines that are enhanced with electrified drivetrains.

As part of the green movement, this announcement displays Volvo Cars’ commitment to minimizing its environmental impact. Volvo Cars are focused on reducing its carbon footprint not only through its vehicles but also through its operations. The automaker aims to have climate-neutral manufacturing operations by 2025.

Samuelsson said, “Volvo Cars has stated that it plans to have sold a total of one million electrified cars by 2025. When we said it, we meant it. This is how we are going to do it.”

More details surrounding these models are to be announced at a later stage.

France to end sales of petrol, diesel vehicles by 2040

 A day after Volvo Cars’ announcement, France announced they would end sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040. This announcement came from its new Ecology Minister, Nicolas Hulot.

This announcement is part of an aspiring plan, under the Paris climate agreement, to meet its targets.

Hulot said, "We are announcing an end to the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040, calling it a ‘veritable’ revolution."

Hulot has recognized that meeting the target would be "tough", especially for the automakers. However, he is confident that France’s automotive industry was well equipped to make the change.

According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), the automakers with the lowest carbon emissions for 2016 are French car manufacturers Peugeot, Citroen and Renault.

There have been a few European countries who have announced they are in favour of cleaner hybrid/all-electric vehicles. These countries also intend on reducing the amount of polluting petrol and diesel cars on their roads.

It has previously mentioned that Germany also aims to put one million electric cars on the road by 2020.