In early 2021, Volvo said it would slowly phase out combustion engines and go fully electric by 2030. That's no longer happening. But the company still wants the EU to stick to its 2035 target for banning new gas car sales.
Bloomberg reports that Volvo joined 49 other companies, including Rivian, Uber, and Ikea, in urging the EU to keep the 2035 deadline. Tesla wasn't mentioned as part of this group.
Volvo's CEO, Jim Rowan, said:
"Electrification is the single biggest action our industry can take to cut its carbon footprint."
He thinks banning gas-powered car sales is the best way to reduce emissions.
The EU ban targets cars that produce harmful emissions. But there might be exceptions for synthetic fuel and hydrogen-powered engines. Germany wants these exceptions, and the European Commission has promised to look into ways for carbon-neutral fuel engines to be used after 2034.
Volvo has already stopped making diesel cars, with the last one rolling off the line in late March. By 2030, the company expects 90-100% of its sales to be plug-in hybrids and pure electric cars. They'll still make a few mild hybrid models until 2029. In the second quarter of 2024, hybrids and electric vehicles made up 48% of Volvo's shipments. They think this will rise to 50-60% by 2025.
Not everyone agrees with the 2035 ban. At the start of the year, Porsche's Chief Financial Officer, Lutz Meschke, said the ban might be delayed. Italy's Environment and Energy Security Minister, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, has been more vocal. He's called the ban "absurd" and said it "must be changed." Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, thinks the ban is "self-destructive."
Source: Bloomberg
