Volvo has big ambitions – it aims to sell a total of up to one million electrified vehicles by 2025, the company announced recently. It will achieve this target by offering at least two hybrid versions of every model in its range.
“It is a deliberately ambitious target. It is going to be a challenge, but Volvo wants to be at the forefront of this shift to electrification,” said said Håkan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo. With the support of its parent company, Geely Holding, which acquired the company in 2010, Volvo has been busy preparing to introduce a slew of electrified vehicles for the last five years.
The result is two all-new vehicle architectures known as the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) and Compact Modular Architecture (CMA). Developed for larger and smaller cars respectively, both vehicle platforms are capable of incorporating either hybrid or fully electric car technologies.
So far, three all-new Volvos based on the SPA platform have been revealed – the XC90, S90 and V90. The SPA will also underpin the next generation of 60 series Volvos (XC60, S60 and V60). Soon, the carmaker will introduce a global range of smaller 40 series cars (XC40, S40 and V40) that are underpinned by the CMA.
These new platforms will also be supported by a range of new powertrains. The new T8 Twin Engine found in the XC90, S90 and V90 is just one of the new powertrains that Volvo will introduced. The T8 features a Drive-E petrol engine that has been super- and turbocharged to deliver 318 hp and 400 Nm to the front wheels. All-wheel drive is provided through a rear electric motor instead of a conventional transaxle.
Additionally, in 2015, the company introduced its brand new T5 Twin Engine hybrid powertrain. Comprising a 180 hp 1.5 litre three-cylinder Drive-E petrol engine and a 55 kW electric motor, the total system output of the compact powertrain equates to 250 PS and nearly 400 Nm of torque.
The new powertrain (think of it as a downsized version of the SPA’s T8) will be dedicated for use on Volvo models that ride on the CMA, including a new seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. However, there is also a possibility that the 90 series of vehicles will adopt the setup as well.
Joining this range of hybrid Volvo models in the future will be the company’s first all-electric car, which is due in 2019. In November last year, we had the opportunity to sample the Volvo C30 Electric, which packed a 111 hp/220 Nm electric motor and a 24 kWh lithium-ion traction battery, capable of a driving range of 163 km (under the NEDC test cycle). Expect Volvo to have further developed its electric powertrain technology by 2019.
Volvo’s new electrified car pledge is part of the company’s strategic sustainability programme. Announced recently, the programme contains several new commitments that place sustainability at the centre of its future business operations. Volvo refers to the new commitment as omtanke, a Swedish word that means ‘consideration’ or ‘caring’.
Aside from its plans for more electrified vehicles, Volvo is also aiming to impose climate neutral operations by 2025, have 35% of its leading positions held by women by 2020, move further towards its vision that by 2020 no one will be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo and work with international partners to promote sustainability.
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