Volvo Cars now aims for fully electric cars to make up 50 per cent of its sales by 2025. The announcement builds on Volvo Cars’ 2017 industry-first announcement that all new models released from 2019 will be available as either a mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid or battery electric vehicle.

The company says its strategy to generate half of its sales from electric cars by 2025 positions it as a powerful player in China, the world’s leading market for electrified cars.

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

“Last year we made a commitment to electrification in preparation for an era beyond the internal combustion engine,” said Håkan Samuelsson, President and CEO of Volvo Cars. “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.”

Volvo Cars currently produces the S90 and S90L T8 Twin Engine in China. This week marks the start of production for the XC60 T8 Twin Engine in China, meaning that soon all three Volvo Cars China plants – Luqiao, Chengdu and Daqing – will produce either plug-in hybrid or battery electric cars.

Today at the Beijing Auto Show, Volvo Cars will visually reinforce the company’s position in electrification with all cars on display plugged in. The event marks the first time the company displays only plug-in hybrid vehicles at an auto show.

In another first, side-by-side on stage, the company is displaying its three globally available SUVs: the XC90, XC60 and the new XC40. Beijing also marks the first public appearance for the T5 plug-in hybrid version of the new XC40.

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