Recently, two announcements have set society on a collision course with electric vehicles.
Volvo to go all electric by 2019
Volvo, thanks to a reputation for safety and comfort, remains one of the most popular automotive marques around the world. So if they say that by 2019, every one of its models will be a hybrid or an electric car, then we have to assume the technology is mature, safe and ready for prime time.
While this might create a flourishing second-hand market for older Volvos like the XC60 SUV or S90 saloon for those who demand a petrol or diesel option. For the rest of society, it will mark the starting gun that triggers the end of the gas guzzling era.
Unless the transition proves a total PR and sales disaster, other car makers will follow suit, if not in 2019, but within a few years, While new electric car brands for self-driving cars and city runabout “pod” vehicles and even flying cars will all take this as proof that their time has come.
Volvo’s plans include the launch of five fully electric cars between 2019 and 2021, three of which will be Volvo models and two of which will be high performance electrified cars from Polestar, Volvo Cars’ performance car arm. Full details of these models will be announced at a later date.
“This is about the customer,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president, and chief executive. “People increasingly demand electrified cars and we want to respond to our customers’ current and future needs. You can now pick and choose whichever electrified Volvo you wish.”
Yet, some would consider this more of going all hybrid rather than going all electric. What do you think?
France goes all in on EVs
Even further into the future, and something more of a political nod to the inevitable rather than a solid event, France is committing to an all electric future on its roads. Those pastoral valleys and mountain treks that are currently whizzing by in the Tour de France will be home to nothing but electric vehicles by 2040 if the political commitment holds.
If a whole country goes electric, especially in green-focused Europe, then the entire continent could follow, and the buying pressure alone could sway every car maker in the world to switch to electric vehicle production.
While it will take many years and a good few scrappage schemes to rid the world of gas-guzzlers, the clock is ticking, and our children will soon see the internal combustion engine as nothing more than a museum piece.
YouTube: Volvo Cars to go all electric by 2019
Photo credit: Volvo
Source: Teknikens Värld / Volvo press release / Angelique Chrisafis, Adam Vaughan (Guardian)
Editorial notice: Quote has been provided by Volvo as part of a public press release.
