At the ongoing Beijing Motor Show, Volvo announced that the Swedish carmakers aim for fully electric cars to make up to 50 per cent of its sales by 2025. The announcement is in line with the company's plan to launch mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid or battery electric vehicles of all the models it will launch from 2019. Moreover, the company also revealed its strategy to generate half of its electric vehicle sales from China. The event marks the first time the company displays only plug-in hybrid vehicles at an auto show.
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"Last year we made a commitment to electrification in preparation for an era beyond the internal combustion engine," said Hakan Samuelsson, President and CEO of Volvo Cars. "Today we reinforce and expand that commitment in the world's leading market for electrified cars. China's electric future is Volvo Cars' electric future."
Volvo Cars currently produces the S90 and S90L T8 Twin Engine in China. This week also marks the start of production for the Volvo XC60 T8 Twin Engine in China, meaning that soon all three Volvo Cars China plants Luqiao, Chengdu and Daqing will produce either plug-in hybrid or battery electric cars. Beijing also marks the first public appearance for the T5 plug-in hybrid version of the new XC40.
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China is Volvo Cars' largest individual market and this year delivered a 23.3 per cent first-quarter sales increase, contributing to the company's first-quarter global sales growth of 14 per cent. Volvo car sales in China last year passed 100,000 units for the first time.
The Chinese government plans to have new-energy vehicles account for more than 20 per cent of the country's annual car sales by 2025, which equates to more than seven million vehicles, based on Chinese government forecasts.
