9:33 am, March 2, 2021
Volvo has announced it will be a fully-electric brand by 2030 – and sell electric cars exclusively online.
It means within nine years, the Swedish brand will end the sale of all petrols, mild-hybrids and plug-in hybrids and become a pure-electric brand selling cars online.
The XC40 Recharge small SUV is the firm’s first all-electric model and another electric model in the 40 series will be announced today.
Volvo has also said all-electric models will be exclusively sold online, just like Tesla.
It says the move will ‘radically reduce complexity in its product offer, and provide transparent and set pricing models’.
Online sales will become part of the brand’s Care by Volvo offering – radically reduce complexity in its product offer, and provide transparent and set pricing models.
‘The future of Volvo Cars is defined by three pillars: electric, online and growth,’ said Lex Kerssemakers, head of global commercial operations at Volvo Cars.
‘We want to offer our customers peace of mind and a care-free way of having a Volvo, by taking away complexity while getting and driving the car. Simplification and convenience are key to everything we do.’
Customers of pure electric Volvos will receive a care packaged that will include items such as servicing, warranty, roadside assistance, as well as insurance where available and home charging options.
On its online store, volvocars.com, Volvo says it will ‘radically simplify the process for, and reduce the number of steps involved in, signing up for an electric Volvo’.
Customers will be able to choose from pre-configured electric Volvos that are ready for ordering and quick delivery.
Prices will be set and there will be no haggling, which Volvo says ‘increases transparency and builds trust’.
Volvo’s announcement to go pure-electric follows similar moves by Jaguar and Ford.
