The Chinese-Swedish car manufacturer Volvo sees hard times ahead for competitors who stick to the combustion engine.
The network opposes this.
It has now become a crucial question for car drivers and manufacturers: "How do you feel about electromobility?" While a majority of customers still prefer the combustion engine, they can switch to it in good time (or continue driving their old cars the Cuban way), see meanwhile, most car brands see the best chance for their future in a rapid commitment to battery-powered vehicles.
Electric drive: Volvo warns car manufacturers not to switch too slowly
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Volvo relies fully on electric drive - here the SUV EX90.
© Volvo/dpa-tmn
Audi and Rolls-Royce were among the first manufacturers to announce that they would soon phase out internal combustion engines.
Even earlier, Volvo had declared the switch to electrified cars - but initially also included hybrid models.
In the meantime, the Swedish brand of the Chinese Geely Group is also switching completely to battery-powered vehicles: by 2030, the portfolio should only contain vehicles like the EX90 that are built on Geely's electric platform.
Ten cars with internal combustion engines that we will miss
Ten cars with internal combustion engines that we will miss
Electric drive: "Missed a turning point"
The Volvo boss has now warned the competition not to delay this change and continue to develop combustion engines: "The big problem with industry transitions is that you miss the turning point if you don't invest in time and are not ready when it does The market is changing," said Jim Rowan in the industry journal
Automotive News
- and took the opportunity to praise himself: "We were brave enough to invest before this turning point, which we know will come." Manufacturers such as BMW, Toyota or General Motors, which still rely on petrol, diesel and hybrids.
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Rowan sees the shortage of the raw material lithium required for batteries as the only problem with electrification.
But by 2025 he expects lower battery costs - and electric cars that are no longer more expensive than combustion engines.
Electric drive: "Volvo boss is indoctrinated"
Of course, the network does not share this optimism.
On the contrary - on the Facebook profile of
ecomento.de
users gossip about Rowan's statements:
"The Volvo boss is indoctrinated and the rest is blind like everyone else in Europe."
"Incredible, must be afraid that production will go down without subsidies."
"Your five-cylinder was the last reason to buy a Volvo."
"Electrics alone will never be the future, but you only realize that when the last stretch of land is destroyed and the last cart is left behind because there is neither electricity nor water."
“When Volvo was still Swedish, you could buy them.
Now they're just China hits."
“Fortunately, a manufacturer cannot yet tell me what kind of car I will buy in the future.
Now that Volvo has scrapped diesel, this manufacturer is no longer an option for me.”
List of rubrics: © Volvo/dpa-tmn