Volvo this week dialed back plans to sell a 100% electric lineup by 2030. The move made headlines, but needs context.
The company is hardly abandoning electric vehicle (EV) plans. Instead, it says, “By 2030, it expects electrified cars to represent between 90-100% of global sales volumes. The remaining 10% will allow for a limited number of mild hybrid models to be sold if needed.”
Volvo had announced a plan to go EV-only in 2021, but warned in late July that it might delay the plan.
Teases Electric S90, XC60 Replacements
The company also announced a new technology platform that will form the basis of every electric car it builds. “Like a set of building blocks, it can be configured in many different ways,” Volvo says.
So-called skateboard platforms are quickly becoming the foundation of most EVs on the road. These platforms, which are nearly-flat combinations of batteries, motors, steering, and suspension components, let designers create many different cars by scaling them up or down and adding different body and cabin components on top. Volvo goes a step further with modular software.
To illustrate it, the company announced a pair of upcoming surprises — an all-electric replacement for its S90 sedan and XC60 SUV. “Our work on the EX90 will directly benefit the ES90, and that the work done for ES90 will carry on — both into the development of EX60 coming after it,” the company notes.
A 17-second clip posted to YouTube promises the sedan is “coming soon” but offers no date.
Many Automakers Slowing All-EV Plans
Volvo is not alone in slowing its EV moves.
Cadillac loosened a similar goal in May.
Ford has never said it intends to become an all-EV brand, but the company delayed several new EVs recently.
A recent report from industry publication Automotive News found 11 automakers, from high-end marques like Bentley to mainstream brands like Honda, delaying some EV projects.
Delaying Isn’t Stopping Isn’t
But the changes need context. None of the companies are abandoning EVs. They’re simply giving themselves the flexibility to continue selling smaller numbers of gas cars or hybrids into the 2030s.
Several factors mean EVs will likely take over car sales next decade. First, governments are slowly moving to insist on it.
New fuel economy rules passed in May do the same. Neither set of rules specifically mandates EVs. They just set conditions that gas-powered cars likely can’t meet.
Some states have banned the sale of new gas-powered cars after 2035.
Just as importantly, buyers are changing their minds. EV sales are growing in the U.S. Americans bought a record number of EVs in the second quarter. Sales may not be growing fast enough to meet an all-EV sales goal by 2030, but they’ll get there a few years afterward.
A survey by Kelley Blue Book parent Cox Automotive found that more than half of today’s EV skeptics expect to drop their objections by 2029, with 80% open to buying an EV by 2034.
