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Volvo is making good on a promise it made last year when it announced it would end production of diesel cars at the start of 2024.
The XC90 on display, assembled at the company's Torsland plant, is the last diesel produced by the Swedish automaker, ending an era that began 45 years ago. The iconic SUV will not be sold, but will go to a museum.
The brand, now owned by Geely, didn't particularly track the number of diesel cars produced until 1991, and since then it has built more than nine million units. Since records do not show how many vehicles were built between 1979 and 1991, the total number is much higher. The last representative of the diesel breed will be sent to the World of Volvo museum in Gothenburg.
The diesel story started with the 244 GL D6, but it didn't have a Volvo engine. Instead, it was equipped with an atmospheric six-cylinder unit borrowed from Volkswagen and Audi. Only in 2001, the Volvo company introduced its own diesel engine, a five-cylinder engine assembled by its own hands at the plant in Shevda.
In 2017, Volvo announced plans to stop developing diesel engines. Last month, the last diesel-powered car (V60) was built in Ghent, Belgium. Now the diesel engine has completely disappeared from the model range.
The next step is to completely stop the production of cars with internal combustion engines. While other premium brands such as Mercedes and Bentley have shelved their overly ambitious EV goals, Volvo is sticking to its plan to go all-electric by the end of the decade.
Europe is the last bastion of diesel cars, but demand is shrinking after the Volkswagen Group's emissions scandal. In addition, stricter emission standards are forcing automakers to phase out diesel engines. Investing to bring diesels into line with stricter EU legislation will be expensive, and with demand falling, there's little point in spending money on these engines.
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) says that diesel's market share in Europe will fall from 16,4 percent in 2022 to 13,6 percent in 2023. All-electric vehicles were more popular last year, with a 14,6 percent share, while plug-in hybrids accounted for 7,7 percent. percent Gasoline cars led the way with 35,3 percent. Conventional hybrids took 25,8 percent of the market, while other types of powertrain accounted for three percent.
