Volvo, the Swedish car marque renowned for its environmental commitment, has scrapped plans to sell only fully electric cars by 2030 in the latest sign of a global slowdown in growth for battery-powered vehicles.
Another of Europe’s leading car makers, Germany’s Volkswagen, has indicated it could shed thousands of jobs because of expected lower demand in a market disrupted by political and regulatory diktats on zero-emission vehicles.
Volvo, owned by Geely of China, has been in the vanguard of the electric revolution, stating as long ago as 2017 that by the middle of the current decade it would be building only all-electric or petrol-electric hybrids. In 2021 it went further, stating that it would be electric-only by 2030.
However, in a statement on Wednesday it