Raise your hand if you like Volvo’s current line of gas-only engine vehicle models? Great! Cherish them. As the Swedish company recently announced its plans to phase out these types of car models.

Yes, you read right. With the recent reveal of Volvo’s new 2019 model V60 compact station wagon, the company’s CEO, Hakan Samuelson, recently stated that Volvo has decided against investing into its gas-only facilities.

Is anyone really surprised by this? Clearly with an end goal to phase out gas-only cars, the brand was the first auto manufacturer to announce that future commitments would be aligned with electrified powertrains, and last summer Volvo revealed that each new model released from 2019 on would possess an electric motor.

Autotrader recently reported that the center of the company’s engine range lies within a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine that possesses superchargers and turbochargers and, in some instances, creates power characteristics that resemble engines that are six-cylinders and much larger. Additionally, Volvo’s plug-in hybrid options within specific models teams their engines up with electricity to create a V8 feel when it comes power. The company also has a three-cylinder option for its latest crossover, the 2018 XC40, in some markets.

The company also recently revealed that in and around 2025, they are planning a shift to solid state batteries when it comes to their electrified powertrains; which is a safer technology than what is being used currently, lithium-ion batteries, and should add increased energy to smaller packages.

It is also being reported that the company has a sedan variant of the V60 in the works, which is being called the S60, and will most likely be produced at Volvo’s new plant in South Carolina.
Either way, it is clear that the brand has an increased focus on electric vehicles, with gas-only cars being a thing of the past. It’s the wave of the automotive future.