Volvo Cars, a Swedish car manufacturer, is officially saying goodbye to the diesel era with the production of its very last diesel car, an XC90, in its factory in Torslanda, Sweden. The company had announced the end of diesel production in September of the previous year. The last V60 with a diesel engine was already manufactured at the Ghent factory in February.
Just five years ago, diesel engines were a central focus of Volvo’s operations in Europe. However, things have changed dramatically. In 2019, a majority of the cars Volvo sold in Europe were diesel-powered while electric models were just beginning to gain traction. Today, Volvo has set a goal for the future with plans for 59 percent of Volvos sold in Europe by 2023 to be rechargeable, either plug-in hybrid or fully electric. While Volvo still produces petrol cars, it aims to transition to producing only fully electric cars by the year 2030.
The last XC90 diesel car produced by Volvo will be displayed in a museum in the Swedish city of Gothenburg as an exhibit of history and progress towards sustainable practices in automotive industry. Its electric counterpart, the EX90, represents Volvo’s dedication to electric mobility and sustainable practices moving forward into the future.
