Volvo CEO Jim Rowan warned that different automakers who refuse to surrender making gasoline automobiles danger “lacking the [EV] market.”

Volvo’s EV plan

Volvo plans to go fully electrical by 2030. Rowan stated on an earnings name final week:

The massive drawback with business transitions is for those who don’t make investments forward of the curve, then you definately miss that inflection level, and also you’re not prepared for when the market adjustments.

We’re investing forward of the curve.

The market is shifting in the direction of electrification, and also you finest prepare. We’ve been daring sufficient [to] make investments forward of that inflection level, which we all know [will] come.

Volvo’s 2022 income was $32 billion, up 17% from 2021. That was the automaker’s highest-ever recorded income in its historical past.

EVs made up 11% of Volvo Vehicles’ gross sales, greater than doubling 4% in 2021. Volvo’s fourth-quarter EV gross sales reached their highest level ever at 18%, in comparison with 6% year-over-year. If Volvo’s whole Recharge lineup of BEVs and plug-in hybrids are included, then they account for 33% of complete gross sales and 41% within the fourth quarter alone. 

By 2025, Volvo’s gasoline and EV fashions will attain value parity. Uncooked battery supplies, significantly lithium, have been the primary impediment. Rowan stated:

That’s just about the one factor that stands in the best way of full-scale adoption.

We’re in discussions with mines and processing factories to get direct entry to [lithium] at extra predictable prices.

Electrek’s Take

We predict Rowan is correct. You popped into our heads first, Toyota, since you’re stubbornly sticking with a hybrid path, together with gasoline.

CEO Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota’s founder, will step down in April amid stress to speed up EV growth.

Incoming president Koji Sato, beforehand chief branding officer at Lexus, stated Toyota might be “accelerating the shift to electrification.” A February 13 Toyota press launch states, “Now that the time is correct, we are going to speed up BEV growth with a brand new method.” However that launch additionally says:

We’ll proceed an omni-directional method with out wavering from our multi-pathway.

In that multi-pathway, battery electrical automobiles, or BEVs, are additionally an necessary possibility.

So Toyota continues to be hedging its bets. Between these two, our cash is on Volvo. However 100% electrical is our splendid.

Learn extra: North America’s largest lithium mine can now break floor – that’s nice information for EVs

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