Volvo made a bold announcement Wednesday: within two years, every new Volvo will run on batteries…
…or rather, that’s what many of the news headlines would lead you to believe. What Volvo actually said was this:
“Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, has announced that every Volvo it launches from 2019 will have an electric motor, marking the historic end of cars that only have an internal combustion engine (ICE) and placing electrification at the core of its future business.”
Which is not quite the same thing.
The key word in that sentence is “launches.” Yes, all brand-new models will come with electric motors, starting in 2019. As for existing gas and diesel models, though, they may continue to roll off the assembly lines without any electrification. Will they be converted to electric platforms when they’re redesigned after the usual seven or so years? Does a redesign…
