Volvo have taken a big step towards their commitment of looking beyond the traditional combustion engine. The Swedish manufacturer has just revealed that the upcoming next-generation S60 sedan, which will launch in spring this year, will no longer feature a diesel engine. Instead the company has decided that all their engines for the future would feature electrification. The S60 would be now only be available with a mild hybrid petrol engine, a plug-in hybrid petrol engine or as a full battery electric vehicle.
A mild hybrid is where the electric motor assists the combustion engine but never powers the wheels on its own. Plug-in hybrids are the most commonly used and seem to be the trend with different manufacturers, too. Here, the electric motor can be charged as the car is in motion or from a power outlet. Full battery electric vehicles are as the name sounds: no combustion engines, and charged either overnight using a power socket in a garage or at public charging stations.
Volvo, however, did have diesel hybrids as well and, in some ways, were pioneers, too. In 2012, the diesel plug-in hybrid V60 (D6) used two drivetrains that could even work in tandem. The diesel motor worked the front wheels while the electric ran the rear.
The switch to only petrol hybrids with their Drive-E engines is due to Volvo wanting to keep their focus on balancing performance and efficiency. The company have a long term plan to completely phase out the combustion engine and this is another step towards their commitment for the same.
Built on the new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) that allows choosing electrification as easily as choosing different upholstery, the new S60 will have Volvo’s four-cylinder Drive-E 2.0-litre engines that can accomodate an electric motor with a large battery pack for full-electric propulsion, or even two motors, as well as plug-in hybrid set-up. The following year will see the mild-hybrid versions as well.
Charleston, South Carolina will for now be the only plant manufaturing the new S60 range and will produce all the models in the line for North America and the rest of the world.
