Volvo, Polestar go all-in on EVs; JLR mixes it up

Volvo Cars and its Geely-controlled affiliate Polestar are on a battery-powered juggernaut. JLR, meanwhile, is charting its own path toward electrification.

Polestar launched in 2017 as a Volvo-affiliated all-electric performance brand. But that distinction is blurring as Volvo vows to go all-electric by the next decade.

"Volvo will not sell a single car that is not full-electric after 2030, regardless of market," the brand's chief commercial officer, Björn Annwall, told Automotive News in June. "There's no ifs, no buts."

Volvo said all new models will be electron-powered only. The Swedish automaker has told dealers that it expects to launch seven new and redesigned electrified models, including five battery- electric vehicles.

The fossil-fueled lineup will, however, hang around but don't expect new engines or model redesigns.

According to Annwall, the combustion engine models "will get a bit of love."

"We're not investing in their base technology; there is no deep R&D," he said. "But we can upgrade infotainment, software [and] some exterior, interior design."

Volvo is also going after Polestar's other brand differentiator — performance.

Volvo's new EX30 compact crossover, which arrives in the first half of 2024, boasts a small price and fast starts.

The EX30 — which starts at about $36,000 and will be Volvo's least expensive model — packs up to 422 hp and can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds.

But that's not keeping Polestar, which has a sole model on the market, from executing an ambitious product expansion backed by an IPO.

Polestar will bring four battery models, including a pair of crossovers, a performance sedan and a halo convertible, by around mid-decade.

JLR will invest £15 billion, or about $19 billion, over the next five years, largely in electrification. All Jaguars beginning in 2025 will ride on the new JEA electric platform developed in-house that will underpin at least three vehicles.

Land Rover vehicles will use their own separate platforms. The smaller models, Discovery, Evoque and Velar, will have electric options built on the electrified modular architecture platform.

Range Rover and Range Rover Sport EVs arrive next year on their current platforms, designed to accept hybrid and full-electric powertrains.

Richard Truett contributed to this report.