Volvo Cars has confirmed that it will be producing its final diesel-powered car in early 2024, following its earlier announcement that it will be ending production for its diesel models. This decision is in line with the marque’s plan to become fully electric by 2030, as it aims to be a climate-neutral company by 2040.
Volvo Cars has also previously halted its development of new internal combustion engines (ICE). Back in November 2022, the Swedish carmaker sold its stake in Aurobay, the joint venture company that harboured all its remaining combustion engine assets. Since then, Volvo Cars has not invested any portion of its research and development (R&D) budget into developing new ICEs.
Volvo Cars Chief Executive Officer, Jim Rowan said, “Electric powertrains are our future, and superior to combustion engines: they generate less noise, less vibration, less servicing costs for our customers and zero tailpipe emissions.”
“We’re fully focused on creating a broad portfolio of premium, fully electric cars that deliver on everything our customers expect from a Volvo – and are a key part of our response to climate change,” Rowan added.
Despite Volvo’s diesel-powered models having made up most of its European market sales in 2019, the figure dropped to only 8.9% as of 2022. In August this year, 33% of Volvo’s sales were contributed by its fully electric and hybrid models. However, the company did not provide details on how many of the remaining 67% ICE models it sold were diesel-powered and how many ran on petrol.
Closer to home, Volvo Car Malaysia has not offered any diesel models since the early 2010s, with the most recent model being the first-generation Volvo XC90. All of its current models on sale are electrified, and consist of three mild hybrid (MHEV) models, six plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models, and two fully electric models, namely the Volvo C40 Recharge and XC40 Recharge.
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