The last Volvo diesel model leaves the production line as the brand goes electric
Volvo has made its last diesel-powered car, 18 months after the fuel type left its Australian showrooms, with the final example to roll off the production line bound for a museum. The final diesel-engined car, a blue XC90, left the brand’s Torslanda plant in Sweden this week, bringing to an end the company’s 45-year relationship with the fuel type.
The Volvo XC90 SUV, using the brand’s turbocharged inline 2.0-litre four cylinder diesel engine from the VEA (Volvo Engine Architecture) family which debuted in 2013, will now go on to be displayed at the World of Volvo museum in Gothenburg. Another brand marks its “end of an era” journey now as so many others have in a bid to go all-electric. Saddening news indeed.
Moreover, Volvo has produced more than nine million diesel cars since 1991, as far back as its applicable records go, according to UK publication Autocar, aims to be an electric-only brand by 2030. This is no small feat and clearly means that the brand’s diesel engines are very successful so it is sad to see the engine go.
By 2040, Volvo says it wants to be a completely climate-neutral company, claiming it has “one of the most ambitious transformation plans of any legacy car maker.” In 2022 the Swedish car maker revealed it would end the development of new internal combustion engines, and sold its stake in Aurobay, the joint venture company that harboured all of its remaining petrol engine engineering assets.
On top of that, Jim Rowan, Volvo CEO said in a media statement last year, “Electric powertrains are our future, and superior to combustion engines: they generate less noise, less vibration, less servicing costs for our customers and zero tailpipe emissions.”
“We’re fully focused on creating a broad portfolio of premium, fully-electric cars that deliver on everything our customers expect from a Volvo, and are a key part of our response to climate change.” He concluded.
In Australia, the brand sells 11 models, all of which are propelled by petrol, plug-in hybrid, or fully-electric powertrains. Volvo Australia also announced in 2022 it would go electric from 2026, four years ahead of the Swedish brand’s global deadline. Is this truly the end of the internal combustion engine or will it make a resurgence?
We got all this from Drive Australia and their full article is linked here. Thank you Drive for the information and images.
