Volvo aiming for 50 per cent electric sales by 2025
And the decision is aimed at China, first and foremost
Volvo Cars has announced plans to have 50 per cent of its sales be electric by 2025, following on from its announcement all its vehicles will be plug-in hybrid, battery-electric or mild hybrid by 2019.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the driver behind this decision is China. The fact the push was announced at the Beijing motor show is no coincidence, nor is the fact Volvo's press release highlights the nation's plan to have more than 20 per cent of sales 'new-energy' vehicles by 2025.
"Last year we made a commitment to electrification in preparation for an era beyond the internal combustion engine," Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo Cars president and CEO, said.
"Today we reinforce and expand that commitment in the world’s leading market for electrified cars. China’s electric future is Volvo Cars’ electric future."
At the moment, the brand offers its XC90 and XC60 SUVs, along with the S90 and V90 Cross Country, with 'T8' plug-in hybrid powertrains. Polestar has been spun off as a performance-hybrid brand, starting with the 1 sports car.
We're expecting to see an all-electric XC40 in the (near) future, too.
Volvo isn't alone in laying out a bold plan for electrification over the next few years. BMW wants to have 25 electrified vehicles on sale by 2025, while General Motors wants to offer 20 vehicles by 2023.
Toyota is planning to have 5.5 million annual electrified sales by 2030, of which 1 million will be pure electric vehicles.
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