Their decision to phase out diesels by early 2024 illustrates how rapidly the car industry and customer demand are changing says Volvo Cars.

Only four years ago, the diesel engine was Volvo’s bread and butter in Europe, as was the case for most other car makers. The majority of cars we sold on the continent in 2019 were powered by a diesel engine, while electrified models were only just beginning to make their mark.

That trend has largely inverted itself since then, driven by changing market demand, tighter emission regulations as well as our focus on electrification. Most of Volvo’s sales in Europe now consists of electrified cars, with either a fully electric or plug-in hybrid powertrain.

This milestone follows Volvo’s decision last year to exit the development of new combustion engines. In November last year, they sold their stake in Aurobay, the JV with Geely that harbored all their remaining combustion engine assets. Today, Volvo Cars says they’re no longer spending “a single krona of their R&D budget” on developing new internal combustion engines.

By 2030, Volvo will only sell fully electric cars, and by 2040 will become a climate neutral company.