On Wednesday, Chinese-owned Swedish automaker Volvo announced that by 2019, every new model it introduces will have either an electric or a hybrid gas-electric engine, making Volvo the first major automaker to ditch traditional gasoline engines. "This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car," said Volvo president Håkan Samuelsson. The Swedish car company said that it will launch five full electric cars between 2019 and 2021, three of them under the Volvo brand and the other two from its Polestar subsidiary; it will continue selling combustion-engine models introduced before 2019, at least for now.
The shift toward electric cars "is likely to have been influenced by Chinese auto company Geely, which bought Volvo in 2010," CNNMoney reports, explaining that China has been quick to adopt electric vehicles — more than half of the electric cars in the world are currently sold in China, according to Germany's Center for Automotive Research.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What are annuities and how do they work?The explainer They are commonly associated with retirement planning due to their ability to provide reliable payments over time
-
'Food tourism as we've known it has become a victim of its own success'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Chief justice warns against defying Supreme CourtSpeed Read Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts noted that public officials keep threatening to ignore lawful court rulings
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons mergerSpeed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battleSpeed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rallySpeed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
-
Enron mystery: 'sick joke' or serious revival?Speed Read 23 years after its bankruptcy filing, the Texas energy firm has announced its resurrection
-
US charges Indian tycoon with bribery, fraudSpeed Read Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by US prosecutors for his role in a $265 million scheme to secure solar energy deals
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strikeSpeed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
-
US economy still strong in final preelection reportSpeed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strikeSpeed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
