![]() “Volvo has recognised the huge gains to be made by leading the way in electric. ![]() Greenpeace hailed the move by Volvo, and said other manufacturers should follow suit. However, firms such as BP are dismissive of the effect the cars will have on oil demand. With bullish projections by Bloomberg New Energy Finance that electric models will make up 35% of all new car sales by 2040, oil companies are increasingly worried about the impact on them. Volvo commanded a considerable share (4.5%) of the plug-in electric market, alongside Porsche on 4.8%. While Toyota and its Prius lead on the highest share for hybrids, Renault-Nissan and BMW are top of the pack for pure electric cars. In Norway, the International Council on Clean Transportation found, pure electric models accounted for 15.7% of new car sales in 2016. In the EU last year, 1.9% of new car registrations were for hybrids, 0.7% were plug-in hybrids and 0.6% were pure electric. But as a report published on Wednesday shows, some parts of the world are moving faster than others. Globally, the cumulative number of electric cars broke the 2m barrier last year, up from hundreds in 2005. Even with the current energy mix, in terms of how we generate electricity, there will be a benefit in CO2, let alone the shift to further renewables,” said Bailey, adding that the cars could also “dramatically improve urban air quality”.īen Lane, the director of Next Green Car, a guide to low-emission vehicles, said: “It’s not quite the same as saying they will not make any internal combustion engines, but it’s obviously a key moment.”īoth experts said of all the car companies, Ford was the biggest laggard on the transition to electric vehicles. “We have to decarbonise the transport system, and the shift to electric cars is part of that. Number of electric cars on the road graph A quarter of UK carbon emissions are from road transport. ![]() The potential carbon savings of a widespread shift to electric cars are huge.Īlthough globally coal still accounts for about 40% of electricity generation and gas around 21%, countries such as the UK now source a significant amount of power from low carbon sources, such as renewables and nuclear. “By the mid-2020s I expect there to be a tipping point where the electric car starts to outcompete the internal combustion engine. Prof David Bailey, an automotive expert at Aston University, said: “It’s indicative of the speeding up of the shift over to electrics, particularly in the wake of the VW dieselgate scandal, and it’s a sign that the industry is really starting to move and it will become mainstream. ![]() The company said it had not yet decided on a battery supplier. Volvo said the first of its electric cars will be built in China, but others would be made in Europe and the US. But with this decision we are really becoming the second premium car maker in the world which will also be all-electrified.” Of Elon Musk’s Tesla, whose ‘mass market’ Model 3 is expected to roll off the production line later this week, Samuelsson said: “It’s a tough competitor. The cars that Volvo produces from 2019 onwards will range from battery-only to plug-in hybrid – which can run for a significant distance before switching to petrol or diesel – and mild hybrids, where a battery helps a conventional engine achieve greater fuel economy.Īsked if the announcement showed diesel was dead, Samuelsson said: “Long-term, diesel will get more and more expensive, because it requires some after-treatment.” Volvo said in May it was considering ceasing development on next-generation diesel engines. ![]() Volvo video on its electrification plans. ![]()
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