The Swedish company Volvo Cars, which is owned by the Chinese holding Geely, is forced to follow other Western automakers in pessimizing its electric vehicle plans. «We simply cannot survive on electric vehicles alone,» say American Volvo dealers.
In the spring of 2021, Volvo Cars announced its intention to completely abandon «hydrocarbon» models by 2030 and become a 100 percent electric car manufacturer. Last summer, Volvo's bosses confirmed their commitment to this doctrine, but life, as often happens, made its own adjustments: the global slowdown in demand for electric cars that became clear in the second half of last year caught many Western automakers by surprise, including Volvo.
According to Volvo's official report, from January to June of this year, it sold 388,073 cars worldwide (+14% compared to the same period last year), of which 90,760 were electric cars (+53%), and 82,908 were plug-in hybrids (+7%). Overall, the picture is rosy, but if you look at the detailed statistics for the brand's key markets, you will see that Europe is the main consumer of Volvo's «electric cars»: 71,406 were sold here in the first half of 2024. (+80%), the main driver of growth was the subcompact crossover Volvo EX30, which got off to a brisk start — it immediately became the third most popular new electric car in Europe after the Tesla Model Y and Tesla Model 3.
Volvo EX30
In China, only 2,168 Volvo electric cars were sold in the first half of 2024 (+20%), and in the US, only 1,981 units, which is 74% less than sales in January-June 2023. This figure seems especially frightening given the fact that in early June, production of the flagship electric crossover Volvo EX90 (shown in the main photo) began at the Volvo plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina, in the US. Apparently, American buyers are in no hurry to line up for it.
Production of the Volvo EX90 at the plant in Ridgeville (USA, South Carolina) 1/5 
Volvo EX90 production at the Ridgeville plant (USA, South Carolina) 2/5 
Volvo EX90 production at the Ridgeville plant (USA, South Carolina) 3/5 
Volvo EX90 production at the Ridgeville plant (USA, South Carolina) 4/5 
Volvo EX90 production at the Ridgeville plant (USA, South Carolina) 5/5
In the financial report of Volvo EX90 for the first half of 2024, published last week, the company's CEO Jim Rowan carefully prepares the public for the fact that it will not be possible to completely abandon «hydrocarbon» models by 2030. The report says that the transition to electric vehicles will not be linear, since many customers are not yet ready to buy such cars, especially in regions with poorly developed charging infrastructure. In this regard, Volvo needs a balanced model range, and the company will continue to develop both electric and «hydrocarbon» models — plug-in hybrids and mild hybrids.
In turn, the publication Automotive News Europe, citing insiders, reports that the decision to extend the life cycle of Volvo hybrid models after 2030 has already been made — at least in relation to the United States and other markets, where the sales dynamics of «electric cars» have dropped sharply. In addition, Volvo is seriously considering the possibility of upgrading its «hydrocarbon» SPA1 platform, which turned ten years old this year and on which the current XC90, S90, V90, XC60, S60 and V60 models are built.
Volvo dealers from the USA, quoted by Automotive News Europe, openly say that they cannot survive on electric cars alone, they are literally demanding guarantees from the Swedish company's management that they will continue to produce «hydrocarbon» models after 2030. All that remains is to wait for this to be officially announced.
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