Volvo to manufacture only electric vehicles from 2019

Chief Executive Officer of Volvo, Hakan Samuelsson, said the company will only offer electrified powertrains in models that it launches beginning in 2019.The move may be a step towards ending the manufacturing of vehicles with internal combustion engine.

“This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car.“Our ambition is to be the leader in the transformation into electrified models,” Samuelsson told Automotive News in an interview Wednesday. “With this move we are strengthening our brand, making it stand out from our competitors,” Samuelsson said in a statement on Wednesday.

Volvo Cars has stated that it plans to have sold a total of 1 million electrified cars by 2025. When we said it we meant it. This is how we are going to do it.” In 2014, Volvo said that all its future models would be offered with a plug-in hybrid alternative that would be sold alongside versions with traditional gasoline and diesel engines.

Samuelsson said the move aimed at satisfying increasing demand for electric cars.“This is about the customer. 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.” Samuelsson said.Volvo r&d boss Henrik Green, said it would take until between 2023 to 2025 for the automaker to phase out all models that are only powered by a combustion engine.

Volvo added that its full-electric lineup will grow from nothing now to five cars that will arrive between 2019 and 2021. Three of those cars will be Volvos and two will come from the automaker’s Polestar unit, which is being transformed into a global stand-alone brand for high-performance electrified models.