Volvo Cars plans to keep internal combustion engines for a long time. And now, CEO Håkan Samuelsson says that new hybrid electric vehicles will be around for a very long time.
Initially, Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson didn’t believe in electric cars at all. In a famous interview with Dagens Nyheter 11 years ago, he expressed serious doubts about electric vehicles.
Carup has quoted from the CEO of Volvo Cars:
“We don’t believe in purely electric cars; they have too many limitations.” On the other hand, Samuelsson said that hybrid electric vehicles were the right path.
But he had to reconsider. In 2021, they came out and promised to manufacture only electric cars from 2030. All cars with internal combustion engines would be phased out. They stopped developing new cars with internal combustion engines.
“To continue to be successful, we need to grow profitably.” So, instead of investing in a shrinking sector, we chose to invest in the future – electric and online, as Håkan Samuelsson said at the time.
But Volvo had to reconsider. Car buyers weren’t ready. The transition to electric vehicles took longer than the automotive industry anticipated. In September 2024, they broke their promise. By then, Jim Rowan had replaced Håkan Samuelsson.
“It’s clear that the transition to electric vehicles won’t be linear, and that customers and markets are moving at different speeds. We are pragmatic and agile, while maintaining our leadership position in the automotive industry in electric vehicles and sustainability,” said Jim Rowan, CEO of Volvo.
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