Volvo Cars aims for fully electric cars to make up 50 per cent of its sales by 2025. This recent announcement builds on Volvo Cars’ 2017 industry-first announcement that all new models released from 2019 will be available as a mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or battery electric vehicle.

The company’s strategy to generate half of its sales from electric cars by 2025 positions it as a powerful player in China, the world’s leading market for electrified cars.

The Chinese government plans to have new-energy vehicles account for more than 20 percent of the country’s annual car sales by 2025, which equates to more than seven million vehicles, based on Chinese government forecasts.

“Last year, we made a commitment to electrification in preparation for an era beyond the internal combustion engine,” said Håkan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo Cars. “Today, we reinforce and expand that commitment in the world’s leading market for electrified cars. China’s electric future is Volvo Cars’ electric future.”

Volvo Cars currently produces the S90 and S90L T8 Twin Engine in China. Production for the XC60 T8 Twin Engine in China starts by the end of April, meaning that soon, all three Volvo Cars China plants – Luqiao, Chengdu and Daqing – will produce either plug-in hybrid or battery electric cars.

China is Volvo Cars’ largest individual market and this year delivered a 23.3 percent first quarter sales increase, contributing to the company’s first-quarter global sales growth of 14 per cent. Volvo car sales in China last year passed 100,000 units for the first time.

The new XC40 and the company’s deepened commitment to electrification leave Volvo Cars well-positioned to deliver on its ambition to further boost its share of the world’s largest car market.

In the Philippines, the much-talked about XC40 SUV is eagerly anticipated by Volvo enthusiasts to come in within the year.