Ex-Volvo boss on the end of combustion engines: "The appetite for electric cars is now gigantic"
Created: 03/25/2022, 12:44 p.m
By: Julian Baumann
The outgoing Volvo boss Hakan Samuelsson believes that the company's combustion engine exit is the "right decision".
© Uli Deck/dpa
The Swedish carmaker Volvo decided to phase out combustion engines even before Mercedes-Benz.
In retrospect, the ex-boss describes the step as too hesitant.
Stuttgart/Göteborg - A definitive end to combustion engines has been discussed in the German auto industry for a long time.
Mercedes-Benz has already decided to end production.
From 2030, Mercedes only wants to build battery-powered models (BW24 * reported).
The Swedish carmaker Volvo, based in Gothenburg, has set the same year for the switch, but the company made the decision even before the traditional group from Stuttgart.
The outgoing Volvo boss Hakan Samuelsson expects a further boost for e-mobility from the end of petrol and diesel-powered vehicles.
In Germany, too, e-cars are now clearly on the rise.
On the one hand, this is due to the state subsidies when buying an e-car*, on the other hand, the pressure from politics is increasing.
The Greens called for an even earlier exit from combustion engines than the EU.
In court, however, the Greens experienced a defeat, Mercedes, BMW and VW are allowed to sell combustion engines until 2035*.
Although Volvo made the decision very early on, in retrospect Hakan Samuelsson feels the step is even too hesitant, as he
told the
Handelsblatt .
Volvo prioritized combustion engine off early - ex-boss: "We made the right decisions"
Although Mercedes-Benz decided to phase out combustion engines before the other two major German car companies BMW and VW, the Swabians were initially rather hesitant about the transformation to e-mobility.
The group ushered in the actual e-car era at Mercedes with the premiere of the flagship EQS*.
Volvo has scaled back investments in combustion engines more consistently than other European manufacturers.
"We made the right decisions," ex-Volvo boss Hakan Samuelsson told
Handelsblatt
.
"Looking back, I have to say that we should have acted earlier and more aggressively."
At the beginning of e-car production, there were some doubts as to whether the battery-powered models could really be on par with a car with a combustion engine.
Above all, the initially very limited electric range of the e-cars was criticized.
The car manufacturers themselves did not expect such high demand for the electric vehicles.
The Taycan boom even surprised the Porsche boss*.
Ex-Volvo boss Samuelsson describes similar experiences.
"Demand has increased faster than we expected," he explained.
"The appetite for e-cars is now gigantic."
Ex-Volvo boss sees electric cars on the rise: "Combustion engines are yesterday's technology"
The big advantage of battery-powered cars is the significantly reduced CO2 emissions.
While car manufacturers want to implement the EU's climate goals by switching, numerous consumers are turning to electric cars because of environmental concerns.
"Many people also want to underline that they are progressive and environmentally conscious, they express this by buying an electric car," said Hakan Samuelsson of the
Handelsblatt
.
According to him, anyone who currently wants to buy a new car is considering buying an electric car.
"Combustion engines are yesterday's technology," said the ex-Volvo boss.
While Volvo and Mercedes-Benz have already sealed the end of combustion engines from 2030, BMW and the VW Group are even more hesitant.
VW subsidiary Porsche, on the other hand, is researching a way to also drive popular combustion models such as the iconic Porsche 911 in an environmentally friendly way.
Porsche wants to save the combustion engine with e-fuels*.
Hakan Samuelsson has handed over his position as Volvo boss to his successor, Jim Rowan.
However, he will remain chairman of the board of the Volvo subsidiary Polestar.
*BW24
is an offer from
IPPEN.MEDIA.