Volvo abandons goal of manufacturing exclusively electric vehicles by 2030

Stockholm. Swedish carmaker Volvo Cars on Wednesday scrapped its goal of becoming an all-electric manufacturer by 2030 and said it now expects to continue offering some hybrid models in its lineup then.

Major carmakers have seen demand for electric vehicles slow, partly due to a lack of affordable models and slow rollout of charging points, and Volvo Cars is also preparing for the effects of European tariffs on electric cars made in China.

Volvo Cars said in a statement that its goal for 2030 is for 90 to 100 percent of cars sold to be fully electric or plug-in hybrid models, with up to 10 percent to be so-called mild hybrid models if necessary.

Volvo Cars sells a mix of electric and hybrid cars and has so far stuck to plans to sell only fully electric cars by 2030, even as rivals began to scale back their ambitions.

Many car manufacturers have witnessed a growing demand for hybrid cars, prompting a strategic shift in an industry that had initially aimed to phase out hybrids in favor of fully electric vehicles.

Changing market conditions and customer demands

The slow rollout of charging infrastructure and drivers’ concerns about the range of electric vehicles are among the reasons why buyers have turned to hybrids, which are often more affordable and convenient.

Volvo Cars, majority-owned by China’s Geely, said it was responding to changing market conditions and customer demands.

Volvo Cars expects that by 2025 electric vehicles, which include both full electric vehicles and hybrids, will account for 50 to 60 percent of sales volumes.

The previous target for 2025 was for at least 50 percent of vehicles to be fully electric and the rest hybrids.

“We are convinced that our future is electric,” said CEO Jim Rowan. “However, it is clear that the transition to electrification will not be linear and that customers and markets move at different speeds.”

The company also called for “stronger and more stable” government policies to support electrification.