Innovative Spark at Volvo

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What's going on?

Volvo, one of the worlds largest automakers, announced on Wednesday that it will build all of its cars with electric motors by 2019. (tweet this)

What does this mean?

To be clear: Volvo isnt pulling a Tesla and planning to sell only electric cars in two years time. Every car that Volvo launches from 2019 onward will come equipped with an electric motor, but some may come as hybrid models that can alternate between petroleum (or diesel) power and electric power. Volvo says that the shift marks the historic end to the automotive industrys reliance on fuel-powered engines but some industry experts suspect Volvo is over-applauding itself for the sake of a good PR campaign.


At first, hybrid models are likely to dominate Volvos new lineup, but the automaker has promised to launch five fully electric models by 2021, with the goal of selling one million electric cars by 2025.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: Volvo could be behind the curve on the hybrid market.

At some point, combining electric and combustion motors into one hybrid car will actually end up costing more than making a car with only one of the two engines. Some are even wondering if the hybrid model, which Volvos committed to produce even more of, will soon be as outdated as the combustion engine.


The bigger picture: The automotive industry is slowly readying itself for a massive shift into electric vehicles.

Tesla started producing its all-electric Model 3 this month, and many of the worlds major automakers have laid out some kind of roadmap to mass produce hybrid and electric cars within the next ten years. Developing technology for mass market electric cars has proven expensive and slow to develop but Volvos announcement is proving that automakers of all sizes are committing themselves to the sector-wide shift into electric cars.

Originally posted as part of the Finimize daily email.

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