Is Volvo backing down from its promise to go all-EV by 2030?

Volvo’s EV commitment is in question after CEO Jim Rowan’s recent comments. As one of the first automakers to announce plans for an all-electric lineup, was viewed as a first mover. Here’s why Volvo may be backing off its all-EV promise by 2030.

Volvo was one of (if not the) first legacy automakers to by 2030. By then, Volvo said it would phase out any car with an internal combustion engine, including hybrids. The plans were outlined as part of Volvo’s commitment to reduce its carbon footprint and contribute toward a sustainable future.

“We are fully focused on becoming a leader in the fast-growing premium electric segment,” Volvo’s former CEO and current chairman of the Polestar board, Hakan Samuelsson, said in March 2021. Volvo’s former CTO, Henrick Green, added, “There is no long-term future for cars with an internal combustion engine.” By 2025, Volvo said it aimed for 50% of global car sales to be EV, with the rest being hybrid.

By 2030, all Volvo cars sold should be fully electric. Volvo already has a strong lineup of EVs rolling out, including , starting around $35,000, and the larger EX90. It’s also launching its first luxury electric minivan, , in China.

Fast forward a little over three years, and the story may be changing. Although Rowan reiterated he’s a “huge believer in electric propulsion” (which he said is superior to the internal combustion engine), Volvo’s CEO said it could “take time to bridge different parts of the world for f.