Make / Model Search
News - VolvoAll-electric goal remains on track for VolvoVolvo sales to be 70pc electric by 2025, on track to hit all-BEV goal by end of 202613 May 2024 VOLVO Car Australia is on track to achieve its ambitions of selling only battery electric vehicles (BEV) by the end of 2026, with the brand confirming its plans to cease sales of petrol powertrains in time for that target to be met. The company has gone on the record with assertive targeting for its transition to a fully electric offering, having already done away with diesel models while adding more BEV options for buyers, such as the XC40 Recharge, C40 Recharge and the just-launched EX30 compact crossover that is expected to account for around a third of Australian Volvo sales.
More is in the pipeline, with confirmation that the EX90 – which will replace the XC90 large seven-seat SUV -– is due to start arriving here at the end of 2024.
An all-electric replacement for the XC60 (to be called EX60) is on its way in 2025.
Speaking with GoAuto at the launch of the new EX30 compact BEV, Volvo Car Australia managing director Stephen Connor said the brand is ambitious and will stick to its plan, despite an apparent global downturn in BEV demand.
“In 2019, we told you all that we were going to stop selling diesels in Australia, and we did. We're pleased to say that globally, they followed us, and I think they stopped selling diesels in 2023,” he said.
“In 2022, I told you all that we were going to go fully electric by 2026. And this is the start, obviously, of the new generation of cars coming through. We're really proud about what's coming now and also the new car.
“We're still on track to do that. We've got a lot more work to do, as you can imagine. Globally, as a company, we said we're going to be climate neutral by 2040. And that's across the entire chain. So all of our suppliers, through to delivery, and we're well on track to deliver that as well.
“So, again, we've still got a lot more to do. But you know, as a company, we're very proud about who we are, and our ambition to get there,” he said.
“There's not too many companies out there, outside of the automotive industry, who can actually say 2040 is a drop-dead hard deadline that we will succeed, and we will achieve.”
Mr Connor said the EX30 will be a crucial inclusion in the Australian Volvo range because it offers a different choice for luxury brand customers who are shopping on a stricter budget.
“We really waited a long time for this arrival,” he said of the EX30, which starts at $59,990 before on-road costs. “And we're so pleased to have it on our shorelines.”
Mr Connor outlined the business’s targets for this model, which are – once again – ambitious but backed by demand and a supply level to sustain a relatively large number of sales for the Volvo brand.
“The car will represent probably about 30 per cent of our sales,” he said, underlining the importance of this fully electric compact crossover, which is built in China and based on parent company Geely’s underpinnings (also shared with Smart).
Mr Connor said that in 2023, the brand's sales split included 40 per cent BEV models, with the remainder being petrol and plug-in hybrid.
“By the end of this year, once this one (EX30) goes on sale fully, we will be about 70 per cent, or up to about 70 per cent of EV mix, which again goes credit to our obviously long term strategy and our vision,” he said.
Mr Connor said the brand has seen high levels of demand, and has already sold out its entire allocation of model year 2024 (MY24) EX30s, with the unchanged MY25 now selling well.
“We've already sold out the first 1500 before the cars have even arrived – MY24 is completely sold out,” Mr Connor said.
“So we're now looking for MY25. So we've sold 200 of MY25s and we're setting 40 a week at the moment.
“We're also looking forward to the EX90, which is coming very late this year as well,” said Mr Connor, suggesting an official launch early in the New Year.
Mr Connor shared that the business has secured a run of 3900 examples of the EX30 from China for full-year production, and if that supply converts to sales, it will no doubt help bolster the slumping sales figures for the Swedish marque.
Over the first four months of 2024, there has been a notable sales downturn for Volvo Car Australia – to the end of April, the brand had shifted 2617 units, down from 3781 for the same period in 2023.  Read more |
Click to shareVolvo articlesResearch Volvo Motor industry news GoAutoNews is Australia’s number one automotive industry journal covering the latest news, future and new model releases, market trends, industry personnel movements, and international events. |
Connect with us
Facebook Twitter Instagram