Volvo Cars has targeted one million electrified car sales by 2025 following the announcement that all of its new products will include an element of EV technology from 2019.

Following on from news that Polestar – which Volvo bought back in 2015 – will become a separately-branded entity focussed on the development of “world beating electrified high performance cars”, the brand has signalled a new direction in its bid to cut emissions and improve fuel economy.

The move will also help the brand meet strict EU emissions standards which will demand a manufacturer fleet average of 95g/km CO2 by 2021.

Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars, said that the “marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car”.

He added: “Volvo Cars has stated that it plans to have sold a total of one million electrified cars by 2025. When we said it we meant it. This is how we are going to do it.”

Volvo Cars which currently offers its plug-in hybrid T8 drivetrain in the XC90, XC60, S90 and V90 model lines, said that it plans to introduce a portfolio of electrified cars across its model range, embracing fully electric cars, plug-in hybrid cars and mild-hybrid cars.

It will launch five fully electric cars between 2019 and 2021, three of which will be Volvo models and two of which will be high-performance electrified cars from Polestar.

These five cars will be supplemented by a range of petrol and diesel plug-in hybrid and mild-hybrid 48-volt options on all models, representing one of the broadest electrified car offerings of any car maker.

Samuelsson said that the turn towards electric, which comes in the same month that Smart announced its entire range would feature EV propulsion in certain markets, was “about the customer”.

He said: “People increasingly demand electrified cars, and we want to respond to our customers’ current and future needs. You can now pick and choose whichever electrified Volvo you wish.”

The announcement underlines Volvo Cars’ commitment to minimising its environmental impact and making the cities of the future cleaner.

Volvo Cars is focused on reducing the carbon emissions of both its products as well as its operations. It aims to have climate-neutral manufacturing operations by 2025.