Volvo Cars leader Jim Rowan doesn’t think it’s a smart concept for automakers to continue creating combustion-engine cars as they move toward an all-electric future. Speaking to Automotive News, Rowan believes that using any of the powertrain technologies “risks losing the market. “It’s true that the Swedish automaker has one of the most competitive forms of electric vehicles in the industry and is committed to being fully electric by 2030, five years ahead of General Motors.
Rowan also recently said he believes electric cars will be less expensive until 2025. But rivals like BMW have yet to commit to an all-electric future, and Rowan is convinced that only a competitive investment strategy will put Volvo in the right position. at a global market level as demand for electric vehicles increases.
“The big challenge with trade transitions is that if you don’t invest ahead of the curve, you miss that tipping point and you’re not in a position for when the market changes,” he said. “We’re making a reversal ahead” of the curve.
Volvo is in a position where it can send and receive, so to speak, generation from other Geely-owned automakers, especially Polestar, which is already EV-only. And also because Volvo is smaller than the maximum of its luxury rivals, it is more agile and adapt to changes.
“The market is moving toward electrification, and you better prepare for it,” Rowan said on the call. “We’ve been enough [to] invest before this tipping point, which we know will happen. “
Late last year, Volvo introduced the seven-seater EX90 SUV built in South Carolina, with more variants on the way, as well as new sedans and EV pickups. Volvo hopes this competitive launch strategy will result in part of its EV. sales in the middle of the decade, but it wouldn’t be easy to get there.
The automaker’s electric vehicle profit margins have been affected due to higher values of battery materials, such as lithium. in talks with mines and processing plants to get directly to [lithium] at more predictable costs,” he said. The goal is to achieve price parity by 2025.
As for the EX90, demand for the new flagship model has been incredibly high despite its base value of nearly $80,000. It’s easy to see why. The 496-horsepower EX90 rides on an all-new platform, seats seven passengers and will offer a two-engine edition with all-wheel drive at launch. The EPA gave him a diversity estimate of up to three hundred miles.