Owen Klinsky
Contributor
Swedish automaker Volvo Cars said on Wednesday that it is scrapping its goal of going fully electric by 2030 as the electric vehicle (EV) market continues to struggle.
The company announced it now aims for between 90% and 100% of its cars to be fully electric or plug-in hybrids by the end of the decade, with the remainder being “mild,” non-plug-in hybrids, a company press release stated. Volvo’s backpedaling comes amid lower-than-expected consumer demand for EVs and a recent industry shift away from electrification. (RELATED: REPORT: $84 Billion Worth Of Biden-Subsidized Manufacturing Projects Floundering)
“While Volvo Cars will retain its position as an industry leader in electrification, it has now decided to adjust its electrification ambitions due to changing market conditions and customer demands,” the company wrote. “The strategic adjustments to its electrification ambitions ensure that Volvo Cars has a flexible plan that meets customer preferences and enables value creation as a business.”
Volvo has ditched plans to sell only electric cars by 2030 amid waning demand for battery powered vehicles.
Another big manufacturer ditching EV plans. #CostOfNetZero
👉https://t.co/i7qPgRbjLx pic.twitter.com/AMlxhyAKwv
— Net Zero Watch (@NetZeroWatch) September 4, 2024
“We are and will remain an industry leader in electrification and nearly half of our global sales are either fully electric or plug-in hybrids,” a Volvo spokesman told the DCNF.
The company’s shift in strategy comes amid broader challenges in the EV market, with consumer demand coming in lower than proponents hoped, according to Fortune, and automakers like Rivian, Ford and General Motors hemorrhaging cash on their EV initiatives.
Ford scrapped plans to manufacture a three-row electric SUV in August, while Mercedez-Benz dropped its goal of an all-electric line-up by 2030 in February. Luxury EV maker Lucid laid off 6% of its workforce in May, equating to roughly 400 employees.
Volvo’s Wednesday announcement is the latest setback for President Joe Biden’s goal of having 50% of new U.S. car sales be EVs by 2030.
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Battery electric vehicles are a specialty item. The sales problem reminds me of the old marketing joke—We have the best celebrity endorsers for the dog food, the best artwork, the snappiest jingle, What’s wrong? The dogs won’t eat it.
Great failures in marketing always started with some know-it-all zealot pronouncing –
“WE KNOW what customers NEED, why do we have to ask them what they WANT?”
Ha, Tom! I had forgotten that one.
Brandon’s only goals are lounging on the beach, sniffing little girls hair, and eating ice cream.
Sitting on a park bench, eyeing little girls with bad intent?
Drying in the cold sun, watching as the frilly panties run?
Maybe happening sooner than he ‘thinks’. If deemed necessary, the regime may force Biden out early to give Harris a potential lift as acting President.
Describes Biden perfectly.
At least he didn’t hang out with Jeffrey Epstein and talk about dating his own daughter, or walk into teenage beauty contest dressing rooms like a pervert.
Trump didn’t visit Epstein Island multiple times, and he kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago and ceased contact with him. (You should also note that just this week he indicated that he would be inclined to release the Epstein client list, something that the current administration hasn’t even considered doing)
Trump also did not shower with his daughter.
Weird flex there, Simon.
“Trump didn’t visit Epstein Island multiple times, and he kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago and ceased contact with him. “
If you say so. Seems to me this is all coming out now. Maybe you can explain why Trump wished Gislaine Maxwell “well.” A very strange thing to do for a sexual predator…. Unless?
Volvo is owned by Chinese group Geely Holding Group. All Chinese BEV producers are grappling with falling demand and oversupply.
Volvo will find it difficult to get around the EU 38% tariff on Chinese BEVs. There would be no reason to treat it differently than other Chinese manufacturers. The tariff will hike the prices even more so fewer people will be able to afford them.
France should end up the winner with tariffs because they have nuclear power to make their Renault so are not as disadvantaged as much of EU.
Once Volvo completes their transition, who is going to buy one?
There is no future for mass market adoption of dangerous incendiary lithium battery EVs and if the climate changing pollies don’t recognise it the insurance underwriters will. No doubt why market leaders like BYD are going down the sodium track by all accounts-
The Battery That China Is Hiding from the World: It Uses This Strange Material and Could Destroy Our Industry (ecoticias.com)
There’ll be a weight penalty in that but the plusses including safety will outweigh it.
China has a massive lead in EV and battery technology already so if Western climate changing politicians want to mandate EVs they’d better get used to the bleeding obvious-
VW Defends Plan to Shut German Factories With Plunging Sales (msn.com)
As for widespread adoption of safe battery tech it’s very limited for towing or heavy transport as well as construction/mining/farming/fishing and the like so that largely leaves light personal transport. However with cars there’s no real economic case for ubiquitous public fast charging and the kilowatts required are problematic particularly for dilute fickle generation. So we’re left with a battery car market largely for those with off-street parking and slow overnight charging or retirees that can soak up some of the solar duck curve.
I don’t see current sodium as way to replace lithium. I’m building batteries as my hobby and tried na-ion batteries and I simply can’t find many advantages in them. Current energy content is 2-3 more less than in li-ion. They have big spread of voltage 1,5V – 4,1V hard to utilize. You need very high currents when battery is low, needing thick cables lot of MOSFETS.
Their only advantage is safety, although I saw videos penetrating na-ion batteries and it was pretty wild, although not burning.
They have potential to be cheap which can brake market in their advantage.
The more penetration of lithium battery EVs the more incidents and the more knee-jerk reaction-
South Korean drivers scramble to get rid of electric vehicles, citing safety concerns following fires (channelnewsasia.com)
Doesn’t matter what starts them burning the fallacy of composition will become more and more obvious to Regulators and/or insurers. I have no doubt that’s what’s driving BYD research even with their safer blade battery that Tesla adopted. The industry has to find fire safe batteries or hit a brick wall on that count alone.
It’s like this you climate changing numpties-
Aussie Tesla driver uses fishing rod for clever street charging setup
Wake up to yourselves and stop hogging the bong.
You have to admire the simple effective uncluttered solution the owner devised.
It is clearly a tongue in cheek move, because the house actually has a drive in which another car sits covered in a car sheet, as seen in the article.
It is not the typical tower block of flats nowhere to charge economically problem, that plagues the battery car power issues in cities.
For some un-talked about reason, having ranks of battery charging cars sat in the underground parking of the more affluent apartment blocks, doesn’t seem to be a popular option either…. can’t imagine why not? What could it be?
What could it be? Not lead acid or NiMh you’d reckon-
Firefighters save cats as blaze tears through elderly couple’s home (msn.com)
The local council did not agree. The idiot had to remove it.
Once the low hanging EV fruit was picked it now competes with proven, affordable, easy access technology. You can’t legislate common sense.
> Swedish automaker Volvo…
Swedish?
They identify as Swedish but are Chinese owned,. In fact, they have made strides in being more Swedish by the Volvo arm of the Geely group taking direct control of Volvo production in China. The Volvo office in Sweden runs the production but the cars are made in China and Volvo is owned by Chinese interests.
It appears the Chinese owners recognise the value in the Swedish Volvo brand.
I have no idea where the vehicle limes are being drawn but they are now two boxes on wheels rather than the historic three boxes.
Rode long distance in a brand new Volvo bus a few months ago and the driver considered it to be “cheap Chinese crap”.
But, but, but
Reality bites
Is this really a big deal?
Don’t see it. The changes of direction seem very modest. Not 100% plug ins by 2030, but 90-100 plug ins or plug in hybrids%. Who cares?
Its a straw in the wind, true, and it is one of several such straws, but if governments persist with their current directions and regulation, EVs are going to be the only choice if you are buying new.
I can see no sign of governments blinking. So companies like Volvo are going to make small adjustments to their production plans to accommodate buyer resistance, but their basic direction is set by regulation, and they are powerless against that. I don’t see this as being a sign of any important changes.
90% – 100% is Marketing speak designed to inform governments that “we are preparing to pull the plug on EV’s at a moments notice.”
“Shares of Polestar Automotive (NASDAQ:PSNY) fell more than 11% on Wednesday” (4th Sept 2024).
Polestar is the Volvo owned EV specialist division. The share price of the business reflects the marketing speak, e.g. up when they made the announcement they were to build cars in the US, down when sales are announced. Constant roller coaster lurch from good news to bad.
But the bad news for EV manufacturers just keeps coming with slow sales and reduced output, much of it designed to frighten governments into handing them more and more subsidies of course.
Volvo make a lot of Heavy Trucks, with as one MAGA person might say”with big beautiful diesel engines.” The electric BS is just virtue signaling.
https://www.volvotrucks.com/en-en/
Well, a while ago the local Pilot cutters had Volvo diesel engines and there was almost always one boat U/S due to engine problems.
They now use Cummins.
Volvo is owned by a Chinese Company. The owners don’t have to believe in global warming.
I wonder what the break down of the 50% of sales being hybrid or battery is? I reckon heavily hybrid.
Setting a goal with incentives is one thing.
Mandating a result with subsidies is a different thing and is blantanly unconsititutional.
From the above article:
While Volvo Cars will retain its position as an industry leader in electrification, it has now decided to adjust its electrification ambitions due to changing market conditions and customer demands,” the company wrote.
Translation from bureaucrat-speak to common English language: we blew it with our virtual-signaling, fantasy-based projections of EV cars sales and now have to acknowledge reality lest we go bankrupt.
Swedish automaker Volvo Cars said on Wednesday that it is scrapping its goal of going fully electric by 2030
Correction. Chinese automaker Geely, Said on Wednesday that it’s scrapping it’s goal of going fully electric by 2030.
My lovely Diesel Volvo was built in the EU, when Volvo was owned by Ford. Volvo proudly displayed on the Peugeot 1.6 turbo diesel engine.
VW not mincing words with all the green jobs-
VW Has “One, Maybe Two Years” To Save Brand, Finance Boss Warns (msn.com)
story tip
Oh well, Geely Sweden might make some other cars…ho hum
Over the years we’ve owned 4 Saabs and now 2 Volvos.
The quality of these vehicles has been been great for a northern environment (Vermont).
You do need a knowledgeable mechanic or know where to look for support, dealers are iffy.
The latest entry is a 2022 V60 Cross Country, made in Sweden, transmission from Japan, replaced a 2015 V60 after a tree fell on it. We wanted a manual but were told NA in the US even if bought overseas..
I can see the China effect in the console software, primitive and similar to the VCR interfaces.
Not that any other manufacturer can do much better. But it seems reliable, responsive,handles well.
Would never buy an EV.