The road to electrification
A multi-billion dollar deal has been signed between Volvo Car Group and leading battery makers CATL and LG Chem for the supply of lithium ion batteries over the coming decade for next-generation Volvo and Polestar models.
This move represents a major step towards Volvo Cars’ ambitious electrification strategy. In 2017, Volvo Cars made the industry-leading commitment that all new Volvo cars launched from 2019 would be electrified. Since then, the company has also set the aim to have fully electric cars make up 50 per cent of its global sales volume by 2025.
CATL of China and LG Chem of South Korea are renowned battery manufacturers, both of which have long and successful track records supplying lithium ion batteries to the global automotive industry. They fulfil Volvo Cars’ strict sourcing guidelines in terms of technology leadership, responsible supply chains and competitive cost models.
Earlier this year, Volvo Cars revealed a number of upgraded and newly developed electrified powertrain options, to be made available across its entire model range in due course. It has also upgraded its existing T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid powertrain, with plug-in options now available on every model it produces.