[RahulNagaraj]

Volvo had previously announced that it would become an EV-only brand from 2030 onwards. However, amidst the EV slowdown across global markets, the Swedish brand has dropped its plans to end global sales of ICE-powered cars by the end of the decade.



The company announced that it intends to offer a mix of hybrid and electric-powered models beyond 2030. Volvo now aims for 90 to 100% of its global 2030 sales to consist of electrified cars which include fully electric and plug-in hybrid models. The remaining 0-10% of sales are expected to come from a limited number of mild hybrid models.

However, the carmaker does intend to eventually end sales of non-electric vehicles though it hasn't announced a revised date for the same. Volvo attributed the change in strategy to "changing market conditions and customer demands".

Volvo even released a statement stating, "Well before the end of this decade Volvo Cars will have a complete line-up of fully electric cars available. That will allow Volvo Cars to make the move to full electrification as and when the market conditions are suitable."

Source: Drive

Link to Team-BHP news

[Thyag]

Wow... This news tells a lot about the "The Future is EV". The one company which is a trend setter, now backs down.

Hope something better comes up other than BEV's in the decade ahead, I certainly think Bev's are not the future of mobility.

[ashis89]

After making straight statements about going fully electric by 20xx, several companies have started reinvesting in development of ICE engines. Some are announcing their revised plans while others are silently resuming R&D into internal combustion engines. Meanwhile Hybrid seems to be the new trend word these days.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/inter...velopment.html (Volkswagen shifts one-third of its EV budget back to ICE development)

https://www.team-bhp.com/news/toyota...engines-future

https://www.team-bhp.com/news/bmw-co...ce-next-decade

https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterly...s-gas-engines/

https://www.autocarindia.com/car-new...e-range-431747


I wonder what Jaguar is doing and if it is too late for them to flip....

Statements like below can kill public trust (and resale of their cars!)
https://www.team-bhp.com/news/jaguar...ept-f-pace-suv


Meanwhile, an EV company has showcased their first IC engine

https://auto.economictimes.indiatime...gine/111682087

Must be quite a dilemma for the auto industry these days.

[SithDefender]

Originally Posted by RahulNagaraj

Volvo even released a statement stating, "Well before the end of this decade Volvo Cars will have a complete line-up of fully electric cars available. That will allow Volvo Cars to make the move to full electrification as and when the market conditions are suitable."

A very wise decision by the top brass indeed. Throwing all eggs into the EV basket is not good for the future.

Honda, if you are listening, can you pls plonk the hybrid engine into the Elevate ?

[clutchNgo]

Well ICE have been around for 100+ years, they have been tweaked and tested over decades. Replacing them with EVs which are fairly new won't be that easy.

I do agree with others on hybrid tech.

[adityaNview]

Volvo also has a fabulous, state of the art, as per current norms, diesel engine. It could choose to bring it back. I understand it’s a long shot, but the heart wants what it wants. It could even make it hybrid. For those who travel long and hard, their diesel cars made excellent companions.

[GTO]

Volvo better step up its game in petrol engine development now. While Chinese EVs drive really well, whichever Chinese petrol engines & AT transmissions I have driven, they have all universally sucked. Volvo stopped investing in ICE a while ago and it won't be easy to start the R&D investments and powertrain improvements again.

With cutting edge Petrol-Hybrids, they don't need to worry about diesels which are dying worldwide.

[vellatechie]

Originally Posted by Thyag

Wow... This news tells a lot about the "The Future is EV". The one company which is a trend setter, now backs down.

Volvo is owned by a Chinese firm. This decision has more to do with Europe and US putting extra taxes on Chinese EVs.

EVs are the future but not when automakers can't produce an affordable EV. At the moment maths doesn't add up for mass market adoption (maintenence is low but battery replacement is high, plus charging infra isn't great anywhere other than a couple of countries and handful of US states)

[dragracer567]

Originally Posted by vellatechie

Volvo is owned by a Chinese firm. This decision has more to do with Europe and US putting extra taxes on Chinese EVs.

I doubt if Volvo will get hit by these taxes. Volvos sold in the West are still mostly made in Sweden and Belgium while their headquarters is in Sweden.

[Chisels121]

Ice engines be like:

[NiInJa]

2030 was too aggressive a target for complete electrification, even a common man with general understanding of vehicles and transportation and economics could deduce that. Not sure why European automobile giants made such tall statements few years back.

I have been reading a lot about Toyota's hybrid powertrains and they do make a lot of sense in the interim for customers if reduction in pollution is key goal.

I always felt the following would be right order for EV adoption for general masses (not involving the rich people who can afford more than one car in the house).

1. Complete electrification of public transport.
I wish electric buses were manufactured and used in large numbers

2. Increasing use of public transport in urban areas.
Even in developed countries there are places where public transport is almost non- existent and public end up using big gas-guzzling cars to go to office.

3. Increasing use of electric trains over airplanes for short journeys
I do London-Glasgow travel often, and it pains me how airfares are cheaper than train tickets and how much CO2 I am responsible for generating every time I take the plane.

4. Hybrid EVs till the time charging infrastructure is well planned and executed.
An acquaintance of mine has a Toyota RAV4 hybrid, he uses it to drop his kids to school. For short distances that involve low speeds, that car uses EV mode, since we don't have any kind of charging infrastructure available for buildings, this car makes much sense.

[Straight6_N54]

The first Domino was the strong chinese EV developments. They are nailing the EV game esp BYD. At this rate, their technology will lead the EV by the time Emission norms have hit the ceiling.

Sustainability of EV is another topic all together.
Mercedes EQS is the highest depreciating vehicle ever, even in used marked nobody wants an EQC. What to they do about all the batteries in these cars, the battery disposal or re use is another headache all together.

Globally auto industry correcting the surge created by covid, during this time going only EV is a poor business strategy.

Next CAFE norms might wipe out half of petrol cars, At this pace I don't think I could own an M340i.

[84.monsoon]

Here is yet another example of a company that got carried away in all the Euphoria of EVs only to now realize that customer preferences cannot be overrun by government mandates. Volvo had very good diesel and petrol engines as of around 2016, but stopped developing these engines after that point, banking very heavily on EVs. VED4 is the last Diesel engine to come out of Volvo around 2013, which was an excellent engine and much missed by the user community especially here in India.

With the slowdown in EV market and price pressure brought by China based competitors, many of the competitors are bringing in strong hybrid and plug-in hybrid models. This has resulted in a resurrection of the ICE engine development, especially more efficient combustion cycles, transmission technologies and recharge techniques.

I recently came across an article about use of Diesels in Series Hybrid applications. Although Diesels are not good for start/stop applications with extensive RPM variations in Series/Parallel applications, they may well be a very good choice for series hybrids. The engine can operate at the ideal RPM for efficiency, and charge the battery. The variability of power output required is taken care of the battery and motor. I expect that if this is true, Diesel engines may well make a comeback to power super-efficient series hybrids that may well return much better FE than existing petrol-driven series hybrids. Volvo and other manufacturers who stopped Diesel Development may find themselves at a disadvantage as the action shifts to hyper-efficient hybrids from pure EVs.

[rev8]

Why don't any of these companies get that they can't create an EV revolution without a high power DC charging infrastructure over highways that works without worry?

We all know that EVs are the preferred choice in cities, but the moment you want to step out, you need extensive planning and patience. If any of these companies choose to invest in the infrastructure, they can solidly back their transition plans but they all just want to sell EVs without putting their skin in the hard game.

There's a reason why Tesla and Chinese EVs saw success which they all wanted to cash on. No wonder they need to re-evaluate their strategies now!