Volvo CEO Jim Rowan recently warned that other automakers who refuse to give up making gas cars risk “missing the [EV] market.” To stay ahead of the curve, Volvo has committed to going completely electric by 2030. The automaker’s 2022 revenue was $32 billion, up 17% from 2021, and EVs made up 11% of Volvo Cars’ sales, more than doubling 4% in 2021. By 2025, Volvo’s gas and EV models will reach price parity.
Raw battery materials, particularly lithium, have been the main obstacle to achieving this goal. Rowan said: “That’s pretty much the only thing that stands in the way of full-scale adoption.” To address this issue, Volvo is in discussions with mines and processing factories to get direct access to lithium at more predictable costs.
Toyota is another automaker that has been slow to embrace EVs. CEO Akio Toyoda is stepping down in April amid pressure to accelerate EV development. Incoming president Koji Sato has said Toyota will be “accelerating the shift to electrification,” but the automaker is still hedging its bets with a multi-pathway approach.
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