The Swedish brand said that as part of the transition, it wants half of its sales in 2025 to be electric cars, and the other half hybrids. That means it will stop selling vehicles powered solely by gasoline or diesel just four years from now.
“There is no long-term future for cars with an internal combustion engine,” Volvo chief technology officer Henrik Green said in a statement. The transition to selling only electric cars will allow Volvo “to meet the expectations of our customers and be a part of the solution when it comes to fighting climate change,” he added.
The automaker said that its second fully electric car, a new model in the 40 Series, will be unveiled later on Tuesday. Several additional electric models will roll out in the coming years, it said.
Volvo said it will invest heavily in online sales and “radically reduce” the complexity of its product offerings. Pricing will be transparent, it said. The strategy is similar to the one used by electric car market leader Tesla, which only sells online.
Much of the action is happening in Volvo’s home market. Europe has imposed aggressive targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, and carmakers face huge potential fines if they do not comply. That has helped the continent pace ahead of the United States on adoption of electric vehicles.
Electric vehicles are expected eventually to be cheaper to produce than traditional gasoline-powered cars, thanks to fewer moving parts and thus less need for labor to assemble them.
