LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) – Volvo’s full car range will be fully electric by 2030, the Chinese company said on Tuesday, joining a growing number of carmakers planning to phase out fossil fuel engines by the end of this decade. .
“I am absolutely convinced that there will be no customers who really want to stay with a petrol engine,” Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson told reporters when asked about the future demand for electric vehicles. “We are convinced that an electric car is more attractive to customers.”
The Swedish carmaker said that by 2025, 50% of its global sales should be fully electric cars and the other half of the hybrid models.
The owner of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, based in Hangzhou, said he would start a new family of electric cars in the next few years, all of which will only be sold online. Volvo will launch its second all-electric model, the C40, later on Tuesday.
Samuelsson said Volvo will include wireless upgrades and fixes for its new electric models – an approach that electric carmaker Tesla Inc. has introduced.
Carmakers are rushing to switch to zero-emission models as they face CO2 emissions targets in Europe and China, plus looming ban on fossil fuel vehicles in some countries.
Last month, Ford Motor Co said that production in Europe would be fully electric by 2030, while the Tata Motors unit Jaguar Land Rover said that its luxury Jaguar brand would be fully electric by 2025 and that the carmaker was producing electric models of whole series will launch. by 2030 op.
Last November, luxury carmaker Bentley, owned by German Volkswagen, said its models would all be electric by 2030.
Electrification is expensive for automakers, and since electric vehicles have fewer moving parts, jobs in the automotive industry are expected to shrink.
Last week, the head of Daimler AG’s DE> truck division said that electricity would cost thousands of jobs in the company’s propulsion plants in Germany.
Volvo has said it will invest heavily in online sales channels to “radically reduce” the complexity of its model range and offer customers transparent pricing.
The carmaker’s global network of 2,400 traditional bricks and mortar dealers will remain open for service vehicles and to help customers place orders online.
Via volvocars.com, customers can choose from a simplified range of preset electric Volvos for fast delivery – but they can still order custom models. (Reporting by Nick Carey; Editing by Barbara Lewis)