Your next new Volvo could very well be electric, thanks to the company's determination to get big ol' batteries into just about everything it produces.
Volvo announced Wednesday that it will offer electrified versions of all its new cars starting in 2019. At that point, Volvo will no longer offer new vehicles without some degree of electrification, although the gas engine will still play a part in this new strategy.
Volvo already offers a number of plug-in hybrids, but with several new models set to debut over the next five years, that number is going to grow markedly.
Volvo"This is about the customer," said Håkan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo Cars, in a statement. "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."
Volvo's announcement doesn't mean that it's only going to build EVs within the next two years. Rather, its lineup will comprise a wide variety of electrified vehicles, including plug-in hybrids, battery-electric vehicles and 48-volt mild hybrids. Tesla aside, this would make Volvo the first car company to offer electrification options across its whole lineup.
The company also said that it plans to launch five fully electric vehicles between 2019 and 2021. Three of them will be Volvo models, while the other two will be high-performance EVs under the new Polestar spinoff brand. It's unclear if they will be EV variants of existing Volvo models, or brand new creations. Volvo won't offer up any more details until "a later date," which is nice and specific.
Volvo's already making a big push into electrification. Currently, the XC90, S90 and the all-new XC60 are offered as plug-in hybrids in the US. Its T8 drivetrain puts out 400 horsepower and 472 pound-feet of torque, which makes Volvo's plug-in hybrid setup both the most powerful and most efficient drivetrain available.
