Volvo's all-electric car will arrive in 2019

Volvo says it will put an all-electric car on sale by 2019.

That goal is part of a larger strategy to grow the number of plug-in cars in its lineup over the next few years.

In an announcement of this new strategy, Volvo said it expects electrified vehicles to account for up to 10 percent of sales "in the medium term."

The Swedish carmaker did not provide any details on it's planned electric car. They'll presumably trickle out over the next four years or so.

In the meantime, Volvo also plans to expand its lineup of plug-in hybrids.

The proliferation of plug-in hybrid power trains will start with Volvo's larger models.

Volvo already offers the XC90 T8 "Twin Engine" plug-in hybrid SUV, and says it will offer a similar powertrain on the upcoming S90 full-size luxury sedan.

In the XC90, the Twin Engine powertrain consists of a 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine that's turbocharged and supercharged, along with a rear-mounted electric motor for all-wheel drive.

The carmaker says it will also offer plug-in hybrid versions of its "60" models, which currently include the S60 sedan, V60 wagon, and XC60 crossover.

Volvo currently sells a V60 plug-in hybrid in Europe that uses a diesel through-the-road setup.

In addition, Volvo will use plug-in hybrid powertrains with its new Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) for small cars.

Both CMA and the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform that debuted with the current-generation XC90 were designed to accommodate electrification from the outset.

Note that it is still unclear whether any of the compact models based on the CMA platform will be sold in the U.S.

Volvo's interest in plug-in hybrids will likely extend to performance models as well.

When it announced the acquisition of tuner Polestar this past summer, it said that future Polestar models will incorporate plug-in hybrid technology.

Even with just two models--the XC90 Twin Engine and V60 Twin Engine--Volvo already claims to sell more plug-in hybrids in Europe than any other manufacturer.

Source:BusinessInsider