Volvo, Betting on Electric, Moves to Phase Out Conventional Engines
Volvo’s battery-powered vehicles will be produced initially in China,
but eventually also in Europe and at a new factory the company is building near Charleston, S. C.
Hybrids, which combine battery power with gasoline or diesel engines, accounted for about 2 percent of passenger car sales in the United States last year, a number
that has been declining because gasoline prices have fallen.
While Volvo’s strategy has risks, Mr. Samuelsson acknowledged, “a much bigger risk would be to stick with internal combustion engines.”
Though based in Sweden, Volvo is owned by Geely Automobile Holdings of China, which already produces battery-powered cars for the Chinese market.
By JACK EWINGJULY 5, 2017
Volvo Cars on Wednesday became the first mainstream automaker to sound the death knell of the internal combustion engine, saying
that all the models it introduces starting in 2019 will be either hybrids or powered solely by batteries.
With sales of 534,000 cars last year, Volvo is dwarfed by companies like Toyota, Volkswagen
and General Motors, each of which sold about 10 million vehicles in 2016.
The decision by Volvo to focus on electric vehicles could ultimately give it
and Geely a head start if, as many analysts expect, sales of battery powered cars begin to take off.
