Swedish car maker Volvo recently announced that it will only sell 100% electric and hybrid cars by 2019, and the news has prompted a slew of announcements from other companies and even whole countries. Here are the key facts and headlines.
Firstly, the facts and figures that tell you why Volvo’s announcement is so important.
- Transportation accounts for 14% of global greenhouse emissions.
- Of all aeroplanes, cars, trains and ships in the world, 95% of them are powered by fossil fuels.
- There are 1 billion cars in the world but only 1 million of these are fully electric models.
The number of electric cars on the road compared to petrol or diesel-fuelled cars indicates the challenge that faces car makers, world leaders and environmental activists. However, the popularity of the Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe – two mass market electric cars – prove there is a taste among the public for small, economical, emissions-free vehicles.
Volvo predicts they will sell 1 million electric and hybrid cars by 2025, and this is a U-turn where its chief executive is concerned. Håkan Sammuelsson said in 2015 that electric cars were not ready for the mainstream but concedes the situation in 2017 has changed quicker than first thought.
‘Things have moved faster. Customer demand is increasing. Battery costs have come down. There is also movement now on the charging infrastructure.’ – Håkan Sammuelsson
A day after Sammuelsson made his announcement, the French government, under the newly elected President Emmanuel Macron, announced their policy to end petrol and diesel car sales in France by 2040.
The move is a vote of confidence by the government in the country’s established car makers including Citroen, Peugeot and Renault, who French ecology minister Nicolas Hulot said ‘[they] have enough ideas in the drawer to nurture and bring about this promise’.
The speed with which the French government and Volvo announced such radical aims has stirred other major car manufacturers into action to determine their own future plans for electric vehicles. Similar plans to sell 1 million electric cars by 2025 have been unveiled by Volkswagen, who need to clean up their act in the wake of the diesel emissions scandal in September 2015.
Whatever you think of Volvo’s aims and the French government’s future ban on diesel and petrol cars, one thing is certain. The major car companies of the world are taking serious interest in developing electric cars and see their success in this area as the touchstone to a secure future in the automotive industry.
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