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Volvo has announced that plug-in hybrids will be introduced across its entire range. It will develop an entirely new range of electrified smaller cars and build a fully electric car for sale by 2019. As part of this new strategy, the Swedish car company said it expects electrified vehicles to account for up to 10 per cent of total car sales in the medium term.
The first element of the new electrification strategy involves the introduction of plug-in hybrid versions of its 90 series and 60 series larger cars, based on the company’s new Scalable Product Architecture. This process has already begun with the launch of the T8 Twin Engine All-Wheel Drive plug-in hybrid version of its new XC90 SUV and will continue with plug-in hybrid versions of the new S90 premium sedan and other forthcoming models.
Volvo Cars will also broaden the range of plug-in hybrids it offers with the introduction of a new front-wheel drive Twin Engine variant.
The Swedish car maker will further deepen its product offering with the introduction of an entirely new range of smaller 40 series cars based on its newly-developed Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), which, like SPA, has been designed from the outset for electrification. This makes Volvo Car Group one of very few car makers in the world with two brand new vehicle architectures designed to support both plug-in and pure electric powertrain configurations.
Volvo has also confirmed that it will build an all-electric car for sale by 2019. Further details of this planned model will be released at a later date.
Håkan Samuelsson, President and CEO of Volvo Cars, 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.”
Volvo believes that plug-in hybrids offer customers the best combination of efficiency, range and convenience. For example, the Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine is one of the cleanest and most powerful 7-seater SUVs on the market, delivering over 407 horsepower equivalent and just 49 g/km CO2, plus a pure electric range of 43 km, industry leading fuel economy and reaching 62mph in just 5.6 seconds.
This combination of power, efficiency and environmental friendliness will be the hallmarks of all of Volvo Cars’ forthcoming electrified models.
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Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid review
Read about our drive of the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid at the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed
See the video of the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid tackling the Goodwood hill
Read about the unveil of the production Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid
See the video of the unveil of the production Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid
See our first drive of the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid at the 2011 Michelin Challenge Bibendum in Berlin
