Volvo Cars nya strategi – ska sänka kostnaderna

The entire automotive industry is facing major challenges. We see three of them. One is hyper-competition from new Chinese players. They're going to make it very uncomfortable for everyone in the industry today. Then there's globalization moving toward a more regionalized world. And then there's the climate issue, which won't go away as an important question. The absolute most important answer we can give is to electrify the cars. The automotive industry must have good answers in these three areas if it wants to stay in the business. Today's goal was to show what we intend to do to meet these demands.

Absolutely, because that's the foundation. If you're not profitable, it's hard to invest in new products to meet these challenges. We want to make fully electric cars. We'll have a complete lineup by 2030, just as we've always said. But we also need, realistically for China, the USA, and perhaps even in certain areas of Europe, some form of transitional solution. That means an electric car with a backup motor. We also need that kind of hybrid. Then we need to develop it in a smart way so that it doesn't just become additional investments. Then maybe we can collaborate with them and produce them much more cheaply.

These hybrid cars that we need now. Previously, we thought we'd need hybrids until 2030, and then it would be purely electric. Now we might need them in 2030 too. We need a second generation, and to do that in a smart way, we can do it with Geely. And we already have this car in China, the XE70, as a good example. Something in that style is probably what's needed.

There are requirements in the USA. Chinese components and Chinese software cannot be used in cars sold in the USA. Europe has similar restrictions too. Then there are completely different environments. If you're making self-driving cars, for example something that can drive in Shanghai, it's not the same software as in Los Angeles. That's how the world is now, with regionalization. For cars in the West, there's special software and special components in the computing platform. In China, you need a completely different one. That's also interesting. Normal car manufacturers have to develop this for China from scratch. That's where we have an enormous advantage. We take the ZEEKR system that Geely has developed and essentially use it in our Volvo cars sold in China. That's also an example of a synergy.

It's actually the electric car that will enter the absolute largest segment. I don't know what letter it goes by, but it's the XC60 — a midsize SUV. It's an enormous market and that's where we need an electric car. We haven't had one yet. Despite that, we have a very strong market share in electric. But this is a real growth product. The important thing about it is that with this car, we'll also for the first time be able to go to market with an electric car priced at the same level as a hybrid car, with comparable specifications. I believe that's the big factor that will increase EV sales. Electric cars don't just take a long time to charge. They don't go as far. And they've also been more expensive. Now, with this car, we have a car that will go as far as a gasoline car. We'll be able to charge it as quickly as we refuel it, essentially. And it'll cost the same. I think it's going to be a game changer, as we say.