Volvo says all its cars will be electric by 2019

Aug. 9, 2017
Plans regarding ongoing aftermarket parts availability and repair coverage are still under development as Volvo Cars rolls out a new strategy that every Volvo produced from 2019 onward will come equipped with an electric motor.

Plans regarding ongoing aftermarket parts availability and repair coverage are still under development as Volvo Cars rolls out a new strategy entailing that every Volvo produced from 2019 onward will come equipped with an electric motor. Pure internal combustion engine (ICE) models are gradually being phased out and replaced by ICE cars with electrified options.

The automaker’s dealership repair and maintenance bays are in the process of becoming up to speed with the new program. “Our retailers are already experienced at servicing,” notes Jim Nichols, product and technology communications manager, explaining to Aftermarket Business World that “we don’t yet have a cadence for parts and service; the parts and service teams are working on it.”

Five new fully electric models are to be launched between 2019 and 2021. Three of them will be Volvos, and the other two will be enhanced electric vehicles (EVs) from its Polestar line – now slated to become a separately branded EV high-performance nameplate. The five upcoming releases, with specific details to be revealed later, will be supplemented by a range of gasoline and diesel plug-in hybrid and mild-hybrid 48-volt options.

The goal is to sell one million EVs by 2025 along with completely implementing climate-neutral manufacturing operations during that same time frame as part of a sweeping “transformation plan” costing about $11 billion.

“This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car,” says President and CEO Håkan Samuelsson.

“We believe that the time has come for electrified cars to cease being a niche technology and enter the mainstream,” he says. “People increasingly demand electrified cars, and we want to respond to our customers’ current and future needs. You can now pick and choose whichever electrified Volvo you wish.”

“We have learned a lot about how people use cars with electrification thanks to our current product offer,” observes Dr. Peter Mertens, senior vice president of research and development. “Our research has shown that people are driving our Twin Engine cars in electric mode around 50 per cent of the time, meaning our plug-in hybrids already offer a real alternative to conventional powertrain systems. Battery technology has improved, costs are going down, and public acceptance of electrification is no longer a question.”

Another goal involves bringing autonomous cars to real-life roadways by 2021. In June, Volvo, Autoliv and NVIDIA Corp. unveiled a partnership to work with a new Volvo/Autoliv joint venture called Zenuity to develop the necessary advanced systems and software so that the resulting self-driving cars can recognize objects in their environment, anticipate potential threats and safely navigate.

“This cooperation with NVIDIA places Volvo Cars, Autoliv and Zenuity at the forefront of the fast-moving market to develop next-generation autonomous driving capabilities, and will speed up the development of Volvo’s own commercially available autonomous-drive cars,” according to Samuelsson.

A global footprint

Established in Sweden in 1927 and currently employing 31,000-plus people worldwide, Volvo Cars was bought by Ford in 1999 and acquired by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Co. in 2010. (Volvo Trucks is a separate firm.) Last year more than 500,000 Volvo cars were sold in about 100 nations, up 6.2 percent over 2015’s sales figures.

Total global sales during the first half of this year rose 8.2 percent, amounting to 277,641 units. Sales growth in the Asia Pacific region increased by 22.6 percent; China’s six-month tally experienced a 30.9 percent rise.

Volvo’s main office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mostly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Key production plants are in Gothenburg; Ghent, Belgium; Skövde, Sweden; Olofström, Sweden; Chengdu, China; Daqing, China; and Zhangjiakou, China. The Chinese headquarters is in Shanghai. China is Volvo’s No. 1 marketplace.

At April’s Auto Shanghai exposition, Volvo executives announced that its first fully electric car will be manufactured in China – the world’s largest EV market – for both global export and domestic Chinese sales.

“We believe that electrification is the answer to sustainable mobility,” says Samuelsson. The company “fully supports the Chinese government’s call for cleaner air as outlined in the latest five-year plan. It is fully in-line with our own core values of environmental care, quality and safety.”

The new model, scheduled to be available for sale in 2019, will be based on Volvo’s Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) for smaller cars.

“We are developing a global industrial footprint that will mean we will primarily build cars in the regions in which we sell them,” Samuelsson reports. “This is not only more efficient, but also provides a natural currency hedge.”

Production at the company’s debut American plant is set to begin by the end of 2018. “This investment shows Volvo’s commitment to build cars where we sell them and source where we build. The new factory is our first in the United States, which is our second-largest market globally,” says Lex Kerssemakers, president and CEO of Volvo Car USA.

Groundbreaking at the Ridgeville, S.C. site took place in 2015. When finished the 2.3-million square-foot plant will employ about 2,000 workers annually producing up to 60,000 cars.

In 2015 Volvo finalized a 100 percent stake in Gothenburg-based Polestar Performance, which will now be producing a non-Volvo-badged, Polestar-branded lineup of high-performance EVs on a stand-alone basis. “Polestar Engineered” optimization packages are being made available for Volvo’s range of models as well.

“Polestar will be a credible competitor in the emerging global market for high-performance electrified cars,” Samuelsson says. “With Polestar, we are able to offer electrified cars to the world’s most demanding, progressive drivers in all market segments.”

Driving development of the initiative, in June Thomas Ingenlath, previously Volvo’s senior vice president of design, became Polestar’s CEO.

“Thomas heading up the Polestar organization shows our commitment to establishing a truly differentiated stand-alone brand within the Volvo Car Group,” says Samuelsson.

Ingenlath is joined at Polestar by Jonathan Goodman, who has been promoted from Volvo’s senior vice president of corporate communications to become Polestar’s COO. “With 25 years of commercial experience in the automotive industry, Jonathan is ideally placed to provide operational experience alongside Thomas’s vision, building on the experienced management team that will drive the Polestar brand forwards,” Samuelsson says.

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