Car Manufacturers going all-electric: General Discussion

[FT-1]

From 2019, no car launched by Volvo will feature a pure internal combustion engine. Power unit options will include advanced mild-hybrid setups, plug-in hybrids and pure electric motors.



https://www.motor1.com/news/152581/all-volvos-electrified-2019-on/

Props to Volvo for being the first big car manufacturer to commit to electric propulsion only. This will inevitably encourage competitors to do the same in the not too distant future. 👍

 

[GTboyz]

Shocking.

 

[GTPNewsWire]

This is the discussion thread for a recent post on GTPlanet:

Volvo Goes Green; Says Future Models Will Be Electrified

This article was published by Joe Donaldson (@joeyd) on July 6th, 2017 in the Automotive News category.

 

[Corsa]

This is interesting news.

I like the torque electric produces, but I have one issue.

A few months back I was nearly hit by a Prius from behind.
She was too blind to see me, apparently I was too deaf to hear her.
These electric cars are so insanely quiet, the only noise they emit is the rolling resistance coming off the tires.
To the point where a keen ear could have a good argument with a friend on a boring day.
Those were definitely Michelins, no way Bridgestones.
Kidding aside, there has to be a minimal decibel rating that manufacturers should have to adhere to.
Put playing cards in the wheels something man.

 

[Silver Arrows]

So what happens to the Polestar division, or Volvo's V8 Supercars effort?

 

[Famine]

So what happens to the Polestar division

The article answers this. We also already posted an article about that:

https://www.gtplanet.net/volvos-polestar-become-standalone-electric-performance-brand/

 

[Silver Arrows]

Didn't see the mention of the three Polestar models. Was kind of snuck in there.

Still, @R1600Turbo and others in the know about V8 Supercars, has any word been talked about in regards to the teams running Volvo?

 

[UnkaD]

I keep seeing people online and in the news saying Volvo is ditching the internal combustion engine and going "full electric," then turning right around and discussing how all cars will now be electric or hybrid. If it's a hybrid, then it has an internal combustion engine. I get the point, but it just irks me. It's like that episode of How It's Made with the Corvette when the narrator said that the disc brakes are vented to dissipate heat from the engine. What?!

 

[Famine]

I keep seeing people online and in the news saying Volvo is ditching the internal combustion engine and going "full electric,"

Yes. They're wrong.

Volvo will only offer new model HEV, PHEV and BEV vehicles from 2019. No new model will be ICE alone - and existing ICE cars will continue to be sold until they are replaced.

 

[lbpomg95]

This is a shame - or maybe I'm just bitter that they stopped making 5-cylinder engines and I have decided to ignore any logical or environmental concerns on Volvo's part. Probably that.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Didn't see the mention of the three Polestar models. Was kind of snuck in there.

Still, @R1600Turbo and others in the know about V8 Supercars, has any word been talked about in regards to the teams running Volvo?

Volvo just dropped out, and in a pretty nasty manner. Doubt we'll ever see them in VASC again.

 

[Joey D]

My guess is you'll see a Polestar racecar that has something similar to the LeMans hybrid system on it in a couple of years.

This is a shame - or maybe I'm just bitter that they stopped making 5-cylinder engines and I have decided to ignore any logical or environmental concerns on Volvo's part. Probably that.

As much as I liked the 5-cylinder I had in my C30, it wasn't the smoothest engine in the world nor was it terribly efficient. Plus Volvo has their 2.0L turbo & supercharged 4 cylinder that puts out 316hp which is pretty impressive and better than the I5 was.

 

[HarVee]

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I like the change. It's welcoming and I hope it proves beneficial to the future of automobiles and our very planet. That said, I do agree with the person a few posts above me about sound. The quietness of electric vehicles actually can be a safety hazard. Has anyone here seen the episode of 'The Office' where character Andy Bernard runs over the leg of his coworker Dwight Schrute out of rage? Sure this was a comedy television show and the scene featured a 2nd generation Prius, but the principle of artificial engine noise still applies, if only to avoid such similar incidents that are no doubt likely to happen if every vehicle was near-silent.

 

[lbpomg95]

My guess is you'll see a Polestar racecar that has something similar to the LeMans hybrid system on it in a couple of years.



As much as I liked the 5-cylinder I had in my C30, it wasn't the smoothest engine in the world nor was it terribly efficient. Plus Volvo has their 2.0L turbo & supercharged 4 cylinder that puts out 316hp which is pretty impressive and better than the I5 was.

Oh I agree - I've driven quite a few of the 5 cylinder engines, but for me it's all about the sound. I couldn't care less about efficiency (I bought a volvo 240 that does 25mpg!) or smoothness (that Corsa in my profile pic has a 3-cylinder... yeah...).

I did see a few old 850 T5-Rs that had been tuned and they were comfortably putting out something like 500bhp.

 

[TVR27]

I think Volvo sales will go down even more and Polestar should remove the hybrid junk and get a corvette engine.

 

[Joey D]

I think Volvo sales will go down even more and Polestar should remove the hybrid junk and get a corvette engine.

Most auto makers will end up in the same boat eventually. As oil becomes more expensive to extract and refine, other alternatives will need to take over. Volvo might see a slight decline at first, but I don't think it will spell disaster for them. Plus they will still offer ICE engines for a long time.

As for Polestars getting Corvette engines, I'm not even sure what you're on about here. Polestar doesn't have a relationship with Chevy, they have it with Volvo. A performance tuned electric or hybrid car is perfect for today's market since it will show those cars don't have to be terrible econoboxes.

 

[TVR27]

Most auto makers will end up in the same boat eventually. As oil becomes more expensive to extract and refine, other alternatives will need to take over. Volvo might see a slight decline at first, but I don't think it will spell disaster for them. Plus they will still offer ICE engines for a long time.

As for Polestars getting Corvette engines, I'm not even sure what you're on about here. Polestar doesn't have a relationship with Chevy, they have it with Volvo. A performance tuned electric or hybrid car is perfect for today's market since it will show those cars don't have to be terrible econoboxes.

Hybrid cars are unaffordable and expensive to service and people would probably start buying second hand cars unless the price comes down.

 

[JacoJa]

These electric cars are so insanely quiet, the only noise they emit is the rolling resistance coming off the tires.

The quietness of electric vehicles actually can be a safety hazard.

I can relate to this, as I was once nearly clobbered by a Prius. In the US at least, it will be compulsory for hybrids and EV's to have an external warning sound at low speeds by September 2019. For Europe it will be sometime in 2019. I don't know how it takes over 2 years to add a speaker to a car, but I guess by that time there will be millions of cars on the road which will be forever quiet.

 

[Tornado]

Hybrid cars are unaffordable and expensive to service and people would probably start buying second hand cars unless the price comes down.

No they aren't, no they aren't, and no they haven't. It has been nearly 20 years since they've been mainstream vehicles. They didn't get that way by people not buying them because they were too expensive.


And, shockingly, the people who actually buy Volvos and the people you think won't buy Volvos just because they all have some form of electrification following 2019 probably are not and never were the same people. Maybe this is some sort of disconnect with the cars offered in Europe versus the ones offered in America (though I can't imagine how it could be), but having hybrids and electric cars make up the focus of their flagships makes far more sense for Volvo's brand than putting V8s in S80s, going after the 3 series with R models or competing in V8 Supercars ever did.

 

[Famine]

Yeah, he's just being an 'edgelord' again, because if you have nothing intelligent or insightful to say you may as well say something stupid and pass it off as humour because trollface. Problem?

I think Volvo sales will go down even more

Volvo had its best six months ever just now - 2016 was its best year on record too, but in the first six months of 2017 it sold 8.7% more cars worldwide than the first six months of 2016, at 277,641 to 256,563 - but this translates to its sales going down and more electrification (it already has T8 hybrids) will make it happen even more

Polestar should remove the hybrid junk and get a corvette engine.

Polestar is Volvo's name for its own performance branch, formed by it buying the Cyan Racing team. Polestar Volvo road cars are very quick - but when was the last time anyone even saw one?

It's now going to become a standalone specialist brand to provide performance versions of the very same hybrid, PHEV and BEV engines Volvo will be using exclusively on its new models from 2019, in the same chassis, alongside providing a badge to bodykitted Volvos like M Sport, AMG Line, S-Line do for BMW, Mercedes and Audi.

But instead of using the economies of scale to work on engines made in-house by a parent company that sells more than half a million cars a year, it should use a Corvette V8 and ramp up development costs by engineering a way to get it to fit into the Volvo chassis it gets.

After all, a Corvette V8 has been a proven path to success for all of those startup performance car companies that use them. Why, they're all thriving.

 

[Joey D]

Hybrid cars are unaffordable and expensive to service and people would probably start buying second hand cars unless the price comes down.

While hybrids aren't selling extremely well in the US, they are selling well worldwide.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bu...lternative-fuel-car-sales-estimates/94426704/
http://corporatenews.pressroom.toyota.com/releases/toyota+10+million+global+hybrid+sales.htm
http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/global-hybrid-vehicles-market

And what makes a hybrid any more expensive to maintain than a normal car? The battery pack that may or may not need to be replaced after 7-10 years? As for normal maintenance, my local Toyota dealership will do a routine service for a Prius for the same cost as my Tacoma. Since most hybrids are still cars, tires, brakes, etc. will all be roughly the same cost too, although brakes may or may not need to be replaced more due to regenerative braking, but it's largely down to how it's driven.

And someone in the market for a hybrid is going to buy a hybrid whether they are second hand or not. So I'm not really sure what that point has to do with anything.

 

[Tornado]

Police stations and taxis are switching to hybrids so extensively in cities not just because of fuel economy savings, but (in theory) wearable items pop up less frequently. Brakes wear less, tires are cheaper to replace and wear less because the cars are designed to be lighter than most regular equivalents, etc; and whenever any theoretical big ticket items like the batteries would be gone long after the car exited fleet service.

 

[Streeto]

France, now Volvo? It's all changing too quickly, but we knew it would.

 

[Beeblebrox237]

I think Volvo sales will go down even more and Polestar should remove the hybrid junk and get a corvette engine.

[citation needed]

 

[FT-1]

I think this thread should be the general discussion for traditional car manufacturers commiting to electric power only from a certain date. Maserati is the latest firm to join the bandwagon, with all models from 2019 featuring some sort of electrification.

Source: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/all-maserati-models-use-electrified-drive-2019

 

[ToyGTone]

Welp, there goes the already niche market for Volvo over here to become even more niche. Hybrids and Electric cars are still unpopular here to ether being unaware of existence or the fact that the majority of repair shops doesn't know how to maintain anything that isn't a usual combustion engine. The economy is already becoming worse and worse to the point we along with UAE and other GCC would introduce VAT system next year. Despite this, no Brand are even bothering to advertise and introduce Electric & Hybrid cars apart from Toyota with their poorly selling Prius and Tesla who recently introduced it to our market.

I don't mind Hybrid or Electric systems as i found them to be very interesting and futuristic rather than the whole "Save the Planet & MPG" stuff everyone are talking about. I just want from car brands to push the idea and promote it towards our market.

 

[TVR27]

I think this thread should be the general discussion for traditional car manufacturers commiting to electric power only from a certain date. Maserati is the latest firm to join the bandwagon, with all models from 2019 featuring some sort of electrification.

Source: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/all-maserati-models-use-electrified-drive-2019

What could possibly go wrong.

 

[Minty]

Despite this, no Brand are even bothering to advertise and introduce Electric & Hybrid cars apart from Toyota with their poorly selling Prius and Tesla who recently introduced it to our market.

Except for GM, Ford, Chrysler, VW, Nissan, BMW, Kia, Hyundai, Mercedes, and Audi.

These are all just the ones I've seen on the road in the past few months, though, there are probably some I'm not listing.

I also know Porsche is making a Cayenne Hyrbid but I haven't seen one myself.


It's been a long time since Toyota was the only name in the hybrid/electric game in the US.

 

[05XR8]

Lexus and Infiniti. I'd be interested to see what Hyundai/Kia come up with.

 

[bremics]

Lexus and Infiniti. I'd be interested to see what Hyundai/Kia come up with.

Didn't they (Hyundai) just release the Ioniq? Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid and Full Electric?

Eh, Hybrid, Electric and "Electric Plus" (the same thing as the Volt?)