Back in March 2021, Volvo Cars announced that it will become a fully electric car company by 2030. Later in November 2022, the company re-confirmed its ambitions by targeting half of its global sales to be electric cars by 2025. In pursuit of a fully electric future, Volvo believes that plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) are the ideal first step to achieving this, as we spoke with Volvo Car Malaysia Managing Director, Charles Frump during an exclusive interview.
Volvo Cars has even made the bold move of forming Aurobay, a powertrain operation that is jointly owned by Volvo Cars and Geely Holding. Aurobay is a stand-alone business, separate from Volvo Cars, and the formation of the new company allows Volvo Cars to focus fully on the development of its new range of all-electric premium cars. There is no doubt on Volvo’s commitment to going fully electric.
As for the company’s “bet” on going fully electric, Mr. Frump says that from his past experience with the company, Volvo has a track record of being spot on with its “bets” – first with the discontinuation of its V8 engine in 2010 and second with the end of development of its diesel engines in 2020. His career with Volvo began in 2009 when he served as Director of Marketing for Volvo in Japan.
Being realistic with electric vehicle (EV) adoption, Volvo Car Malaysia is firm on its stance that PHEVs are the ideal first step for this. That firm stance comes from understanding that not all of its customers have immediate access to charging facilities. Customers who wish to switch to electrification may also have the fear of not having enough electric range during unexpected situations.
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With PHEVs, you can choose to either fill up the car with petrol as you would with a normal internal combustion engine car, but also have the option of plug-in charging and also driving in fully electric mode. With Volvo’s latest update to its PHEV powertrain, users can even drive up to 90 km on pure electric only. Speaking of its latest update, Volvo introduced a bigger 18.8 kWh battery to its PHEVs in May 2022. At the same time, the rear electric motor was given a power boost to 145 hp.
For Malaysia, Volvo’s current PHEV options include the XC40 Recharge T5, XC60 Recharge T8, XC90 Recharge T8, S60 Recharge T8, S90 Recharge T8, and V60 Recharge T8. Volvo Car Malaysia also offers mild hybrid options, but they do not make up the bulk of the brand’s lineup.
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During the interview as well, the Volvo Car Malaysia Managing Director answered a few questions about the company’s EV plans. What we can safely say for now is that the newly unveiled Volvo EX30 will make its debut in Malaysia ahead of the Volvo EX90. You can read more about that here.
Volvo Car Malaysia is also open to expanding its lineup that is available for purchase through its online store. Currently only featuring the Volvo XC40 recharge Pure Electric and the Volvo C40 Recharge, the brand’s PHEV models may also be available through the online platform in the future.
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