CEO reckons it isn’t a viable alternative.
Hakan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo Cars, has been particularly chatty throughout the Geneva motor show. Our previous reports on Volvo’s upcoming XC40, the marque’s comment on the morality of autonomous vehicles, its thoughts on diesel powerplants, and the Iron Mark’s commitment to its 4-cylinder-maximum Drive-E powertrains have all been written around his commentary.
Speaking to Wards Auto, Samuelsson reiterated that “battery electrification is what we believe in.”
“With hydrogen, you would require all-new infrastructure once more, so I think there is a limit to what people will invest in. We believe we have to focus on one main energy source, and we believe that is electrification because it’s more flexile.” The CEO did go on to say that “we might be wrong,” and that “you should never say never.”
He went on to say that Volvo will bring its first EV to market in 2019, but did not detail what form it would take. “We are developing not just one model, but electrification for the small platform and also for the larger platforms. And we haven’t revealed which one will be the first,” he said cheekily.
Samuelsson then let on to some of Volvo’s future plans, like the S60 & V60 replacements due in 2018, which will carry with them Volvo’s highly-acclaimed 4-cylinder Drive-E powertrains. “In 2018, we have a mid-sized saloon in the shape of the new S60, and then the V60.” These cars will likely bear the same design language we first saw in the Series-90 cars (like the XC90, S90, and V90), and more recently, the XC60 SUV.
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