Like many car brands right now, Volvo is aiming to sell only electric vehicles in the future. By 2030, in fact. However, Volvo Car Australia wants to fast-track that to 2026 for the local showroom.
Yep, that means Volvo will only sell electric vehicles come 2026. During a speech to media during the C40 launch in October, the local managing director, Stephen Connor, said he is aiming for this to happen by December 2025, but to allow for logistical tolerance, among other things, the date is officially “by 2026”. This is four years earlier than Volvo HQ. Connor said:
“The earlier deadline will allow us to meet the expectations of our Australian customers and be a part of the solution when it comes to fighting climate change. Sustainability is now as important as safety to us, with climate action having the highest priority.”
Volvo Australia is basically looking to jump the gun on the industry as many other carmakers will be making the transition by around 2030. Although, some are converting earlier; Jaguar will only sell EVs globally from 2025, Genesis is only launching electric or hydrogen models from 2025, and Mercedes-Benz has said all of its new-gen models will be electric from 2025 as well. Connor said:
“The decision to sell only electric cars from 2026 makes perfect sense, and we believe it will give us a strategic advantage in the Australian market. The final piece of the jigsaw will be converting the last 20 per cent of our customers to a fully electric future from 2026.”
Volvo currently offers two fully electric vehicles in Australia, with the XC40 Recharge and the C40 Recharge. Soon it will introduce the EX90 (previewed above), which is a fully electric replacement for the XC90. The S60/V60 and S90/V90 are also set to be replaced with electric alternatives in the next couple of years, and they might be wagon-only options judging by the preview image at the top.
It’s understood the last model to convert in Australia (and probably globally) will be the XC60. It is the newest member of the current showroom – the XC40 arrived a bit later but it’s already available in pure electric form.
Volvo has become one of the fastest-growing mainstream car brands in Australia in recent times. According to September VFACTS figures, Volvo sold 8131 vehicles during the first nine months of this year. That’s up 10.8 per cent on the same period last year.
