Volvo, Betting on Electric, Moves to Phase Out Conventional Engines<br />Volvo’s battery-powered vehicles will be produced initially in China,<br />but eventually also in Europe and at a new factory the company is building near Charleston, S. C.<br />Hybrids, which combine battery power with gasoline or diesel engines, accounted for about 2 percent of passenger car sales in the United States last year, a number<br />that has been declining because gasoline prices have fallen.<br />While Volvo’s strategy has risks, Mr. Samuelsson acknowledged, “a much bigger risk would be to stick with internal combustion engines.”<br />Though based in Sweden, Volvo is owned by Geely Automobile Holdings of China, which already produces battery-powered cars for the Chinese market.<br />By JACK EWINGJULY 5, 2017<br />Volvo Cars on Wednesday became the first mainstream automaker to sound the death knell of the internal combustion engine, saying<br />that all the models it introduces starting in 2019 will be either hybrids or powered solely by batteries.<br />With sales of 534,000 cars last year, Volvo is dwarfed by companies like Toyota, Volkswagen<br />and General Motors, each of which sold about 10 million vehicles in 2016.<br />The decision by Volvo to focus on electric vehicles could ultimately give it<br />and Geely a head start if, as many analysts expect, sales of battery powered cars begin to take off.
