Volvo CEO says every single new car will be electric by around 2035 as 'there's no turning back'

Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson has weighed in on the EU’s planned 2035 gas car ban, saying the industry’s future is fully electric and there is no turning back.

The Swedish automaker, owned by Geely, has already stopped making diesel cars and now sees gasoline engines facing their own expiration date.

While Volvo once pledged to sell only EVs by 2030, it has since softened the target to 90–100 percent of sales being plug-in hybrids and full EVs by decade’s end.

Even so, Samuelsson believes the market is clearly heading toward an electric-only reality.

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Volvo is going all-in on EVs and hybrids

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, the 74-year-old executive made his boldest prediction yet.

He said that the car industry will embrace EVs, and while it may take a bit longer in some region, the direction is clear.

“In (about) 10 years, cars will all be electric and they be lower cost,” he said.

It’s a striking statement considering Volvo’s electric sales are currently faltering.

Through the first eight months of 2025, Volvo sold just 90,326 EVs, down 24 percent from the same period last year, while plug-in hybrid sales dipped by one percent.

Gasoline models and mild hybrids also fell by seven percent, dragging the brand’s total deliveries down 10 percent to under 500,000 vehicles.

Still, the Volvo CEO insisted that the path forward is to strengthen plug-in hybrids, calling them ‘electric cars with a backup engine’, while building up the company’s EV lineup.

This includes the brand’s electric semi truck, which is crushing Tesla’s version in terms of deliveries made.

Volvo CEO believes those who don’t adapt may disappear

Samuelsson also warned that the coming electric era will spark industry-wide upheaval.

He predicts that by 2035, only a few global giants and ‘two or three very strong Chinese brands’ will dominate the landscape, while legacy players who fail to adapt may disappear.

This is in line with other experts, who also believe that only 15 of the 129 existing Chinese EV brands will survive by 2030.

That puts pressure not only on Volvo, but also on rivals like BMW, Mercedes, and Audi, many of whom are pushing back against the EU’s 2035 gas car ban.

In particular, Mercedes admitted that going all-in on EVs was a mistake, and is now rethinking their electric strategy.

Both Volvo and its sister brand Polestar are urging the EU to hold firm on its 2035 gas car ban, setting the stage for a showdown later this week when industry leaders meet to discuss the controversial ban.

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