Volvo said on Tuesday its last diesel cars would roll off the assembly line "in early 2024". Of course the writing has been on the wall for several years. Back in 2017, the Geely-owned automaker said it would end production of diesel cars around now.
A few years later, Volvo set an even more ambitious target, pledging to sell only electric cars by 2030.
"Only four years ago, diesel engines were our bread and butter in Europe," Volvo said in a statement on Tuesday. Things have changed dramatically since then; hybrids and fully electric vehicles accounted for more than half of all European car sales in July 2023, while diesel sales accounted for just 14% in the same period.
While Volvo still produces gasoline-powered cars, the company has pledged to "never spend a single kroner of its R&D budget on developing new internal combustion engines."
Tesla's early focus on electric vehicles and the 2015 Volkswagen emissions scandal known as "Dieselgate" were two key factors that led Volvo and other automakers to reach this conclusion.
Former Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said as early as 2017: "We have to admit that Tesla has successfully launched such a car and people are queuing up to buy it. There should also be room for us in this field, with high quality and attractive design."