Volvo to Launch EV Blitz

Volvo Cars is getting ready convert its mainstay models - three SUVs and two sedans - into electric vehicles and to introduce a luxury electric van, according to a recent Reuters article.

The Swedish carmaker, 82%-owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, plans to launch least six new battery electric vehicles through 2026, two anonymous sources told Reuters.

Volvo has announced plans to make its entire vehicle lineup fully electric by 2030. The company’s Australia unit has announced plans to sell only EVs by 2026.

The Volvo makeover hails from a greater focus on customer trends in Asia and the push to win sales there, reported the sources.

A new Volvo-branded MPV or van is among the electric vehicles being planned for the next four years. The company plans to base the van on a vehicle Geely’s Zeekr brand sells in China. Called the Zeekr 009, the battery-electric van starts at about 500,000 yuan ($74,179) and offers three rows of seating. It will compete against vehicles like the Toyota Alphard, a business or family van, that is popular in Asian markets as a limousine alternative.

Volvo is also working on electric sedans, the sources said. The company unveiled the first of its planned electric models, the EX90 sport-utility crossover, in late 2022. The vehicle should hit showrooms in early 2024.

Other battery electric cars in the pipeline include electric versions of the XC90, XC60 and XC40 crossover vehicles and the S60 and S90 sedans, the sources said.

Volvo has carved out and sold its gasoline engine and hybrid powertrain operations to Geely. 

Originally posted on Auto Dealer Today