Volvo aiming for 50 per cent electric sales by 2025

Volvo Cars aims for fully electric cars to make up 50 per cent of its sales by 2025, the company announced today.

The announcement builds on Volvo Cars’ 2017 industry-first announcement that all new models released from 2019 will be available as either a mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid or battery electric vehicle.

The Beijing Auto Show marks the first time the Volvo has displayed only plug-in hybrid vehicles at an auto show. It also marks the first public appearance for the T5 plug-in hybrid version of the new XC40.

This week marks the start of production for the XC60 T8 Twin Engine in China, meaning that soon all three Volvo Cars China plants – Luqiao, Chengdu and Daqing – will produce either plug-in hybrid or battery electric cars.

The Chinese government plans to have new-energy vehicles account for more than 20 per cent of the country’s annual car sales by 2025, which equates to more than seven million vehicles, based on Chinese government forecasts.

“Last year we made a commitment to electrification in preparation for an era beyond the internal combustion engine,” said Håkan Samuelsson, President and CEO of Volvo Cars. “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.”

The new XC40 was recently crowned 2018 European Car of the Year and has already amassed more than 60,000 orders globally since its launch in late 2017.

China is Volvo Cars’ largest individual market and this year delivered a 23.3 per cent first-quarter sales increase, contributing to the company’s first-quarter global sales growth of 14 per cent. Volvo car sales in China last year passed 100,000 units for the first time.