After the initial run of 1,000 cars for model year 2013, Volvo will increase production to 5,000 units for model year 2014.

Volvo announced that the first batch of its V60 Plug-in Hybrid has sold out in Europe, with no plans to sell in the US, before the car even reached the showrooms. The world’s first diesel PHEV features a unique design: a 2.4 liter, five-cylinder turbodiesel powers the front wheels, while a 70 hp electric motor drives the rear wheels. In electric-only Pure Mode, the V60 has a range of about 30 miles. In Power Mode, it boasts 285 hp and 640 Nm of torque, and can do 0-100 kph in 6.1 seconds.

The V60 PHEV was jointly developed by Volvo and Swedish electricity supplier Vattenfall. After the initial batch of 1,000 cars for model year 2013, Volvo will increase production to 5,000 units for model year 2014.

The excitement of the news was only slightly diminished by Senior VP Doug Speck’s statement at the Paris Motor Show on Thursday, which was almost a verbatim repetition of a statement that Volvo released last December: “None of our competitors can offer customers an equally ingenious car. Its uncompromising attitude to green motoring elevates hybrid technology to an entirely new level.”

Images: Volvo