The Swedish automaker Volvo announced today its plan to phase out internal combustion engine vehicles, including hybrids, and only sell all-electric cars by the end of the decade.
Several automakers are starting to announce aggressive phase-outs of their gas-powered vehicles.
Volvo has now added itself to that list with a strong announcement that it doesn’t believe in the internal combustion engine anymore:
Volvo Cars is committed to becoming a leader in the fast-growing premium electric car market and plans to become a fully electric car company by 2030.
By then, the company intends to only sell fully electric cars and phase out any car in its global portfolio with an internal combustion engine, including hybrids.
While several automakers have announced phase-outs of the internal combustion engine, this is one of the strongest announcements of its type since it doesn’t leave any room for hybrids or plug-in hybrids.
The move comes after several markets have started to indicate that they plan to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles around the 2030-2040 timeframe.
Henrik Green, Volvo’s CTO (Chief Technology Officer), said, “there is no long-term future for cars with an internal combustion engine.”
Considering car companies take about three years to develop a car, there is really no sense in developing vehicles with engines if many countries will ban them sooner or later.
Hyundai reports huge interest for Ioniq 5 electric vehicle in Europe
South Korean automaker Hyundai says its limited edition Ioniq 5 Project 45 electric vehicle model over-subscribed by almost three times within 24 hours, with some 236,000 expressions of interest received since the Ioniq 5 car was unveiled on February 23.
Hyundai premiered the Ioniq 5 in a virtual event on February 23, the first model in the company’s new-look Ioniq family of cars and the company’s “new benchmark” in electric mobility.
Since then, Hyundai reports it has received over 236,000 enquiries into the Ioniq 5 from European customers so far, while the 3,000 limited units of the Ioniq 5 Project 45 was almost three times over-subscribed during the first 24 hours after reservations opened.
The news follows hot on the heels of reports that Hyundai received a record number of 23,760 pre-orders for the Ioniq 5 in its home market of South Korea.
The Ioniq 5 is the first Hyundai vehicle model to be built on the company’s new Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), its dedicated architecture for battery electric vehicles.
German automotive giant Volvo Cars and Chinese automaker Geely Auto have signed a new agreement intended to expand on their existing partnership, specifically focusing on electric vehicle development.
Volvo and Geely will share and jointly source batteries, electric motors, and connectivity solutions and jointly develop a world-leading autonomous driving solution under the lead of Zenseact, Volvo Cars AD software development company.
Already planning to share the new SEA and SPA2 electric architectures between their car brands, the two companies will also combine to drive speed and efficiencies in the development of EV hardware and software.
Volvo Car Group signs multi-billion dollar battery supply deals with CATL and LG Chem
Volvo Car Group has signed long-term agreements with leading battery makers CATL and LG Chem to ensure the multi-billion dollar supply of lithium ion batteries over the coming decade for next generation Volvo and Polestar models.
The agreements cover the global supply of battery modules for all models on the upcoming SPA2 and the existing CMA modular vehicle platforms and represent a major step towards realising Volvo Cars’ ambitious electrification strategy.
In 2017 Volvo Cars made the industry-leading commitment that all new Volvo cars launched from 2019 would be electrified.
The company has since reinforced this strategy, by stating that it aims for fully electric cars to make up 50 per cent of its global sales volume by 2025.
“The future of Volvo Cars is electric and we are firmly committed to moving beyond the internal combustion engine,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo Cars.
“Today’s agreements with CATL and LG Chem demonstrate how we will reach our ambitious electrification targets.”
CATL of China and LG Chem of South Korea are renowned battery manufacturers, both of which have long and successful track records supplying lithium ion batteries to the global automotive industry.
They fulfil Volvo Cars’ strict sourcing guidelines in terms of technology leadership, responsible supply chains and competitive cost models.
In China, battery supply will benefit from the scale of the wider Geely Group.
“With today’s agreement we effectively secured our battery supply for the upcoming decade,” said Martina Buchhauser, senior vice president for procurement at Volvo Cars.
“By having two suppliers available in each region we also ensure that we have flexibility in our supply chain going forward.”
Volvo Follows Tesla's Lead on EVs by Building Its Own Batteries
Volvo is going electric.
So is every other automaker.
Compliance vehicles have morphed into huge initiatives, bold promises, and enormous investments.
Volvo going electric isn't surprising or novel, but as a relatively small player in the automotive world, it's interesting to see Volvo following the lead of the biggest EV makers on the planet.
Currently, the battery packs in Volvo's hybrids are custom-built by LG Chem.
The company is one of the main suppliers for a large number of automakers, including Tesla.
But beginning with the company’s first EV, the XC40 Recharge, it’s taking control of the hardware and software that’ll power its small electric SUV.
"Starting with battery-electric vehicles, it's a whole different ball game.
The pack becomes part of the vehicle structure," said Ulrik Persson, Volvo's battery product manager.
"We felt it was a strategic decision to take ownership of the component."
The battery pack is the most expensive component of an EV.
For an automaker that has built its reputation on safety, being able to integrate it in-house without relying on a third party is paramount.
The XC40 started as a gas-powered vehicle, and the company had to make major changes to make it as safe as a Volvo should be.
That includes re-creating some of the space in the engine bay occupied by the now-gone engine with metal framing poking out from the EV equipment that resides there now.
Going forward, electrification will become a larger part of the company's offerings, with a goal to make 50 percent of its global sales be battery-electric vehicles by 2025.
To accomplish that, it needs to appeal to drivers who have become accustomed to Tesla's ability to do constant over-the-air updates that, in some cases, extend their cars' range.
To achieve that, it's taking a page out of Tesla's book and working on its own battery algorithm.
Like Tesla, it'll use data shared by customers driving their cars; based on that, the automaker will tweak its software to make its vehicles more efficient and then send that updated software out to electrified Volvos.
Gone are the days when a vehicle remained static after leaving the lot.
Tesla changed what people expect from their vehicles, and to compete with them in the electric world, automakers like Volvo need to adapt.
It’s not cheap, though.
The automaker invested $60 million on battery lab at its Gothenburg, Sweden, headquarters. Here Volvo puts its packs and modules through rigorous testing.
The first portion is complete at a price of $25 million, with the second area currently under construction.
And there's available room for a third if it's needed.
In the lab, Volvo engineers are putting types of batteries through the paces.
It sources two different battery types for its vehicles.
For the China market, CATL supplies the automaker with prismatic cells, while LG Chem supplies pouches for the rest of the markets.
It's an undertaking that should work well in Europe, where EV sales are growing.
It might be a tough sell in the United States, however, where electric vehicles still make up a minuscule part of total sales.
Some of that probably has to do with range anxiety.
Sure, we don’t drive 200 miles per day on average, but Americans still want to be able to accomplish that feat as easily in an EV as in a gas vehicle.
Tesla's claims to superior range is one reason its cars are a popular choice for many looking to make the switch.
Volvo wants to re-create that phenomenon.
Like everyone else in the market, it's behind the house that Elon built.
But it's laying a good foundation as it makes its way into the neighborhood.
Sounds like all Volvo's, plus a few Hyundai's will be in need of a few Batteris down the Track
As well as GM, Ford, Rivian, Volkswagen, Vauhall, a few Fiskers and Peugeots, a couple of Jags, a shit load of Citroens and Skodas, not to mention a Toyota or two, etc, etc, now,
Honda, Yamaha, KTM, and Piaggio have inked a deal to work together on developing swappable batteries for light electric vehicles such as electric motorcycles and scooters.
I think it's safe to say, " The Future is Electric" - looks very bright for AVZ plus a few others imo
Food for thought
Frank
AVZ Price at posting:
17.5¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
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