LONDON – Sweden’s Volvo Cars unveiled a detailed roadmap for becoming a fully electric car manufacturer by 2030 on Wednesday (June 30), including ambitions to sell 600,000 battery electric vehicles by the middle of the decade and establish a European battery gigafactory in 2026. The thorough presentation on Volvo Cars’ future comes after a proposed merger with the company’s Chinese parent, Hong Kong-listed Geely Automobile, was scrapped earlier this year. Volvo Cars announced in March that it would look into capital market options such as an IPO and a stock market listing.
During the conference on Wednesday, Volvo Cars also stated that many of its future vehicles will be equipped with self-driving technology, including standard lidar sensors from Luminar Technologies Inc and Nvidia computers.
“Using all available technology, our goal is to make the safest cars possible,” stated CEO Hakan Samuelsson.
Volvo Cars is collaborating with Swedish partner Northvolt on a new generation of high-energy batteries that can be incorporated as a structural element of the vehicle for future electric vehicles.
The new batteries, which will be available after 2025, will allow for a greater driving range between charges – up to 625 miles (1,006 kilometers) – as well as substantially faster charging periods.
In 2026, Volvo Cars and Northvolt aim to construct a European battery plant with a 50 gWh production capacity, which may supply 500,000 vehicles or more, depending on battery size. Tesla Inc.’s Nevada gigafactory, on the other hand, has a capacity of 35 gWh. According to Samuelsson, Volvo Cars will launch the first of its new-generation electric vehicles next year, a premium SUV that will share its base with future models./nRead More