Volvo has decided to be part of the trend followed by other competitors to respond to the growing concern about climate. The Chinese-owned vehicle manufacturer has announced its plan to go all-electric by the end of this decade. The company also said that it will sell electric vehicles only online. As part of its plan, the Swedish brand will stop selling vehicles powered only by diesel or gasoline by 2025. The company has set the target that 50 percent of total sales of vehicles will be electric and the remaining 50 percent will be of hybrid cars in the next four years.
The targets look pretty aggressive considering the fact that it so far had only one fully electric vehicle till recently. XC40 Recharge was the only fully electric vehicle that the company has been offering so far. However, the company has now revealed its second fully electric small SUV C40. It is almost identical to its predecessor XC40. However, changes at the front headlights and more tapered roofline are pretty obvious. The new vehicle has 150kW fast charging capability and the company is confident that it will allow customers to tap into the growing networks of fast-charging stations.
Volvo said that there is hardly a future with an internal combustion engine. “The company has decided to go through a transition. The decision to sell only electric cars will help the company to meet the expectations of our customers. Most importantly, we will be part of the solution to drastic climate change,” said Volvo chief technology officer Henrik Green. Volvo emphasized that it will focus on online sales as part of the transition and has plans to invest heavily in it. The announcement by Volvo comes days after Geely, owner of Volvo, scrapped the plans to merge two car companies. It must be noted that the strategy announced by the Volvo has already been adopted by carmakers like Tesla. The electric car market leader is already selling vehicles online.