Volvo has announced its intent for fully electric cars to make up half of its sales by 2025.

In 2017 the manufacturer made an “industry-first” move to make all new models released from 2019 as mild hybrid, plug-in or battery EV.  

The move to electrify 50% of its cars by 2025 reportedly “positions it as a powerful player in China” as it is the world’s leading market for electrified cars.

Volvo Car’s president and chief executive, Håkan Samuelsson, said: “Last year we made a commitment to electrification in preparation for an era beyond the internal combustion engine.

“Today we reinforce and expand that commitment in the world’s leading market for electrified cars. China’s electric future is Volvo Cars’ electric future.”

The Chinese government plans to have new-energy vehicles account for more than 20% of the country’s annual car sales by 2025, which equates to more than seven million vehicles, based on Chinese government forecasts.

Production for the S90 and S90L T8 Twin Engine is already in China, and this week marks the start of China-based production for the XC60 T8 Twin Engine. Soon all three Volvo Cars China plants – Luqiao, Chengdu and Daqing – will produce either plug-in hybrid or battery electric cars. 

China is Volvo Cars’ largest individual market and this year delivered a 23.3% first-quarter sales increase, contributing to the company’s first-quarter global sales growth of 14%. Volvo car sales in China last year passed 100,000 units for the first time.