Volvo has announced a major expansion of its electrification plans. The company says it will introduce PHEVs across its entire range, and bring a pure EV to market by 2019.

In the first phase of the new strategy, Volvo will introduce plug-in hybrid versions of its 90 series and 60 series larger cars, based on the new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). This process began with the launch of the XC90 T8 Twin Engine PHEV, which recently went on sale in the US.

The next step will be to develop a new range of smaller 40 series cars based on the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), which, like SPA, was originally designed to enable electrification.

“We believe that the time has come for electrified cars to cease being a niche technology and enter the mainstream,” said Volvo Cars CEO Håkan Samuelsson. “We are confident that in two years’ time, 10 percent of Volvo’s global sales will be electrified cars.”

“We have learned a lot about how people use cars with electrification thanks to our current product offer,” said Dr Peter Mertens, Senior VP for R&D. “People are driving our Twin Engine cars in electric mode around 50% of the time, meaning our plug-in hybrids already offer a real alternative to conventional powertrain systems.”

“We have come to a point where the cost versus benefit calculation for electrification is now almost positive,” Dr Mertens added. “Battery technology has improved, costs are going down, and public acceptance of electrification is no longer a question.”

Source: Volvo