Volvo Cars to go all electric by 2030 as it shifts sales online

Volvo Cars will only sell electric cars by 2030 and shift all sales online as it cuts out dealerships in negotiating prices and seeks to forge direct relationships with customers.

The Geely-owned Swedish group, which is the most ambitious of any leading carmaker in the switch to electric, will control all pricing centrally and eliminate bartering by dealers, it said on Tuesday.

Showrooms representing the group will be used to service cars, provide pick-up points for vehicles and offer in-store advice, as well as displaying some available models.

But, as in-car technology services and transport apps produce vast amounts of data, and companies such as Google and Apple consider ways into the industry, it wants to get closer to customers.

“We want to have a strong customer relationship with the people directly using the car,” said Volvo Cars chief executive Hakan Samuelsson.

I’m totally convinced [by the end of the decade], there will be no customers who really want to stay with the petrol engine

Traditionally, carmakers knew very little about individual customers, with the independent dealerships providing the main point of contact.

Under its new centralised system, customers who order a vehicle in store will use the same online system as internet shoppers, while Volvo will also expand its leasing and subscription models to include insurance cover.

The group does not expect to close forecourts as a result of the move beyond its usual practice of reviewing its retail footprint depending on sales and demand, Samuelsson added.

Ahead of unveiling a new electric car on Tuesday, the group also formalised an earlier ambition to eliminate any traditional engine or hybrid sales from its line-up by 2030.

Samuelsson said: “The customer is always right, but I’m totally convinced [by the end of the decade], there will be no customers who really want to stay with the petrol engine.”

While some groups have given limited phaseout dates, Volvo is the first major carmaker to commit to a global end to any sales featuring internal combustion engines so soon.

Ford has pledged that all sales in Europe will be fully electric by 2030, while General Motors has stated an ambition to phase out sales of engine cars by 2035.

Volvo already plans that half of sales by 2025 will be pure electric models, with the other half being hybrids that use a battery and an engine.

The company is preparing to carve out its engine and hybrid technology unit, which will run in managed decline by Geely Auto under a collaboration deal announced last week.

Moving all transactions online “will radically simplify the process for, and reduce the number of steps involved in, signing up for an electric Volvo”, the company added.

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