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Swedish car manufacturer Volvo Cars The automaker on Wednesday abandoned its near-term goal of selling only electric vehicles, citing the need to be “pragmatic and flexible” amid changing market conditions and cooling demand.
Volvo Cars, owned by China’s Geely Holding, is one of the first traditional carmakers to commit to a full shift to electric vehicles. The company said its long-term goal remains to become an all-electric carmaker.
However, the company declare Currently, the company aims to have 90% to 100% of the cars it sells be fully electric or plug-in hybrid by 2030, while up to 10% will allow for a limited number of mild hybrids.
target replacement 2021 Commitments Volvo Cars’ product lineup will be fully electric by the end of the decade.
The move means Volvo Cars is following in the footsteps of other industry players in scaling back its electric vehicle ambitions. German automakers Mercedes-Benz Group and Volkswagen have previously announced changes to their electric vehicle strategies.
“Electric vehicles offer a superior driving experience and increase the possibility of using advanced technologies to improve the overall customer experience,” Volvo Cars Chief Executive Jim Rowan said in a written statement on Wednesday.
“However, it is clear that the transition to electrification will not be linear, and customers and markets will adopt different speeds,” he said.
“We are pragmatic and flexible while remaining an industry leader in electrification and sustainability,” he said.
Volvo Cars shares fell more than 4% on Wednesday.
On March 28, 2024, the Volvo EX30 all-electric car was displayed at the Everything Electric London 2024 exhibition at ExCel in London.
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Volvo Cars said that the share of pure electric vehicles in its lineup in the second quarter of 2024 was 26%, noting that this was the highest level among its premium peers. The company said its electrification share, which refers to electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles, is 48%.
Volvo Cars highlighted challenges facing its electrification ambitions, saying the slower-than-expected rollout of charging infrastructure, the removal of government incentives in some markets and recent EV tariffs in various markets created additional uncertainty.
Volvo Cars said the developments showed that “stronger and more stable government policies” were still needed to support the transition away from fossil fuels.
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