Volvo dives headlong in to Plug-in Hybrids, EVs and a new Compact range

Volvo has revealed plans to offer plug-in hybrids across its range, a new range of electrified compact cars and a new, all electric car on sale by 2019.

Volvo has been doing a lot right of late and, on the back of the recent ‘Bad Diesel’ headlines, its announcement that it planning plug-in hybrid versions of all its cars – and an all electric car – by 2019 hits the Zeitgeist right where it needs to.

Volvo reckon that 10 per cent of its cars – that’s heading for 100,000 – will be electrified in the medium term as buyers seek a better kind of ‘Green’ than diesel has offered.

The first part of Volvo’s new strategy will see will see plug-in versions of its 90 and 60 series cars (like the XC90 T8 and V60 PHEV), with the new S90 (which we’ve already seen ‘revealed’) likely to get plug-in options from launch, with FWD versions arriving as well as the top-end 4WD.

Volvo are also promising a new range of the compact 40 Series cars – which will use a newly-developed Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) designed for electrification – to ensure iot’s not just range-topping Volvos that offer plug-in ability.

But Volvo are not just going after the plug-in hybrid market, they’re also making a pitch for Tesla territory too, with an all-electric car promised by 2019 – probably a new V60 or XC60 – offering a range of up to 300 miles.

Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo CEO, said:

We believe that the time has come for electrified cars to cease being a niche technology and enter the mainstream. We are confident that in two years’ time, 10 per cent of Volvo’s global sales will be electrified cars.

Let’s hope Volvo can convince buyers that plug-ins are a sensible medium-term strategy, and that they focus on petrol-engined plug-ins rather than diesel.