Electric vehicles have long been considered as the future of the vehicle market. But that future could arrive very quickly as both car manufacturers and governments are rapidly turning away from petrol and diesel-only vehicles.
Volvo’s historical announcement that they will only manufacture hybrid and electric vehicles from 2019 onwards marks the beginning of the end for the internal combustion engine’s century-long domination of the international car market.
This announcement from Volvo highlights an emerging trend moving away from petrol and diesel only vehicles. The French Government recently announced a ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2040. The UK has also announced plans to follow in the footsteps of France, and will also ban new petrol and diesel cars by 2040.
The German Government passed a similar non-binding resolution banning the sale of combustion engine cars by 2030. Germany has also called on all members of the European Union to pass similar resolutions, with Norway and the Netherlands having already announced intentions to do so.
This backlash against petrol and diesel vehicles comes after fuel emissions scandals have occurred across multiple vehicle manufacturers. The Volkswagen emissions scandal in 2015 was the most notable, but recent events have shown these actions can be widespread throughout the vehicle manufacturing industry.
Mercedes Benz recently recalled 3 million diesel vehicles across Europe, while Fiat Chrysler was sued by the USA’s Environmental Protection Agency in May. Both of these scandals were caused by similar emissions testing defeat devices like the Volkswagen situation.
Aside from the recent publicity turning people away from the internal combustion engine, the larger concern for the future of petrol and diesel-only vehicles is the exponential growth of the electric vehicle market.
Volvo’s announcement to offer their entire range as exclusively hybrid or fully-electric vehicles highlights the radical swing of focus away from the internal combustion engine, with the competition in the growing electric vehicle market set to skyrocket.
Tesla is set to release their most affordable electric car, the Model 3, in Australia for roughly $35’000USD in 2018. This is a breakthrough in affordability for fully-electric vehicles, and has broadened the electric-vehicle market to include many who cannot afford a premium vehicle.
Other manufacturers will be measuring the success of the Tesla Model 3 to see the demand for affordable electric vehicles, but many other manufacturers have already announced intentions to follow suit.
Due to the current bad publicity surrounding petrol and diesel vehicles, combined with increasing competition in the electric vehicle market and government’s legislating against vehicle emissions, we are set to witness the precipitous decline of the once all-powerful internal combustion engine.