'Only EV' plan 100% correct: Volvo Cars

Electric car sales may be seeing some ups and downs recently, but the long-term strategy of Volvo Cars to sell only electric cars by 2030 is "100 per cent" correct, Martin Persson, head of Volvo Cars for the Asia Pacific (except China) region, said on Wednesday.

"Yes, there is a bit of plateauing in electric car sales. We were expecting this development. There was a strong uptake in the beginning. Then we might have a slower pace of growth. Then it will increase again. This pattern will look similar in almost any market," he told reporters.

When asked if the company's strategy of focusing on just EVs would yield high growth in India, he said: "In the long term, 100 per cent. Short term, perhaps we are not totally in sync with the market. But we are here for the long game. We are running a marathon and not a sprint."

In India, 27,300 electric cars were sold in the first quarter of 2024-25, showing no year-onyear (Y-o-Y) growth. In contrast, hybrid car sales reached 22,300 units in the first quarter, marking a 38 per cent Y-o-Y increase, according to industry sources.