The last diesel Volvo produced, an XC90, rolling off the production lines in Torslanda, Sweden. © Volvo Cars via Automotive News Europe
Many manufacturers are delaying their electrification plans, preferring to continue offering internal combustion engine models for a few more years. This is not the case for Volvo, which still plans to become a 100% electric brand by 2030.
In this context, the Swedish brand has just completely abandoned diesel engines, a few years before their gasoline counterparts, in accordance with the schedule it had announced.
The last Volvo equipped with a diesel engine rolled off the production lines in Torslanda, Sweden, this Tuesday March 26, 2024. It is an XC90 which will be exhibited at the brand’s museum in Gothenburg, still in Sweden.
Volvo’s adventure with diesel began in 1979 with the 244 GL D6, then equipped with a Volkswagen engine. It was only in 2001 that Volvo began producing its own diesel engines.
“More than 9 million diesel-powered Volvos have been manufactured since 1991, when company records date back. The real number is therefore much higher, since twelve years have not been taken into account”explains Automotive News Europe.
Diesel, end of hegemony
Only about ten years ago, from 2012 to 2016, half of the Volvos sold worldwide were equipped with diesel engines. This is not surprising, given that the brand is particularly popular with heavy drivers and that diesel was at its peak in Europe at the time.
Volvo therefore joins the list of rare car manufacturers to have completely abandoned diesel engines, after Smart (now 100% electric), Bentley and Porsche. However, this energy has already disappeared from the catalog of many models in recent years, particularly among city cars.
In 2023, the market share of diesel in Europe was only 11.9%, but this does not take into account the increasingly numerous hybrid models.