Sacrifices in the name of “eco-trends”: Volvo is preparing to say goodbye to diesel engines

The last copies of the Swedish brand, equipped with engines running on heavy fuel, will be released early next year.

< p>Volvo announced its strategy to strive for carbon neutrality as part of Climate Week in New York. Volvo, in particular, said that they intend to say goodbye to diesel cars over the next few months: it is known that all remaining models with the corresponding engines will be discontinued at the beginning of 2024.

In the photo: Volvo XC90

The manufacturer cited changes in market demand, the ongoing tightening of emission standards, as well as the global auto industry's focus on electrifying cars as the main reasons for abandoning diesel engines. It should be noted that after Volvo diesel cars officially “sink into history”, only models with hybrid installations and all-electric “filling” will remain in the brand’s line-up.

According to Volvo's strategy, a complete transition to the development and production of models with only all-electric powertrains is scheduled for 2030. The company plans to become completely carbon-neutral in another decade. The development of new internal combustion engines — both gasoline and diesel — was stopped last year.

By the way, regarding such a reason as “changes in market demand,” the manufacturer did not bend his heart. Thus, Reuters noted that in past years, most of the brand’s sales came from diesel cars. However, at the end of 2019, such machines accounted for less than 50% of the total number sold. And in 2022, less than 9% of customers in the global market chose Volvo diesels. Overall, the share of diesel vehicles sold in the European market fell to 14.1% (as of July 2023).

In the photo: Volvo EX90

Under the hood of Volvo diesel models there is a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel, its output varies from 150 to 235 hp. The motor can be part of a mild-hybrid power plant: Volvo took this step to improve its “eco-indicators” in Europe.

Volvo is now paying a lot of attention to electric vehicles. Thus, the company is preparing for the imminent presentation of the luxury minivan EM90, which will probably be a relative of the “Chinese” Zeekr 009 (both brands belong to the Chinese holding Geely). At the end of last month, the Swedish brand showed teasers of the interior of the future new product.

And at the beginning of last summer, the subcompact electric crossover Volvo EX30 debuted. This model is based on the modular platform SEA (Sustainable Experience Architecture) developed by Geely, on which related models such as the smart #3 and Polestar 4 are also based.