Volvo will build its last diesel in early 2024
Even before completely phasing out the internal combustion engine, Volvo announced the end of the diesel engine. On the sidelines of Climate Week NYC, the Swedes said that production of all diesel-powered Volvo models will end by the beginning of 2024. “In a few months from now, the last diesel-powered Volvo car will have been built, making Volvo Cars one of the first legacy car makers to take this step,” the manufacturer writes.
In 2021, Volvo announced that it would only offer pure electric cars worldwide from 2030. In Norway and Denmark, the manufacturer only sells BEV and PHEV models. In Australia, Volvo Cars plans to offer EVs only from 2026.
The end of the combustion engine has already been heralded with concrete organisational decisions: In November 2022, Volvo Cars sold its Aurobay shares – a joint venture with Geely that includes the remaining assets in the field of combustion engines. In other words, Volvo is no longer spending money on developing new combustion engines; the current generation of engines will continue to be used.
“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,” says Jim Rowan, Chief Executive at Volvo Cars. “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.”
Volvo Cars sold 183,280 cars in Europe this year (by 31 August), 111,727 of which fell under the “Recharge” label, which covers BEVs and PHEVs – so just under 61 per cent. Specifically, there were 46,545 BEVs (a plus of 200 per cent compared to the same period last year) and 65,182 PHEVs (+19 per cent). Worldwide, the Recharge share of the 447,492 new Volvos sold by the end of August was 38.5 per cent.
By the way, Volvo speaks of a “changing outlook” in its announcement on the end of diesel. As recently as 2019 – four years after the emissions scandal – the diesel was Volvo’s best-selling powertrain. “That trend has largely inverted itself since then, driven by changing market demand, tighter emission regulations as well as our focus on electrification. The majority of our sales in Europe now consists of electrified cars, with either a fully electric or plug-in hybrid powertrain,” Volvo says.
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