Yahoo Autos Volvo Backtracks on EV Goals but Teases ES90 Electric Sedan
Volvo today announced that it will not necessarily follow through on its original plans to have a fully electric lineup by 2030.
Volvo acknowledged that different markets will move towards EVs at different paces, so it will keep hybrid and PHEV models available to ease the transition.
The EV transition won't stop, however, with Volvo teasing the upcoming ES90 electric sedan.
Volvo broke into the electric vehicle space for the 2021 model year with the XC40 Recharge and declared it would have a fully electric lineup by 2030. Now, the Swedish automaker is backtracking on those plans, with Jim Rowan, the company's CEO, admitting today that the transition to EVs may take longer than expected. The announcement came during a media event titled "A Tale of Two Flagships," insinuating that the refreshed XC90 SUV will likely live alongside the electric EX90 for quite some time.
Rowan explained that Volvo will not be "dogmatic" in the switch to EVs, so while the automaker plans to be ready to meet its initially announced goal of a fully electric lineup in 2030, it will also be prepared to meet customers where they are by offering an array of hybrid and plug-in-hybrid models alongside the EVs.
Rowan also said that "the road to electrification won't be linear," with certain markets moving more quickly to a fully electric fleet than others. While sales of electric vehicles continue to increase in the United States, the growth has slowed compared with the exponential increases seen early on. That suggests the American market may be slower to move entirely away from internal-combustion engines.
Still, Volvo will push ahead and continue to launch EVs, teasing an upcoming electric sedan called the ES90 and revealing a shadowy teaser. Volvo also announced that it has begun customer deliveries of the new EX90 SUV, which we recently drove and found to be spacious and smooth.
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