Volvo sets new goals for autonomous vehicles

-    The Swedish carmaker is aiming for 33 per cent of total autonomous sales by 2025.

-    Almost half of the sales are expected to be from its subscription service.

-    And 50 per cent of the global sales will be from the electric cars by the middle of the next decade.

Volvo is aiming big for its autonomous and electric vehicles by the year 2025. The Swedish carmaker is planning for 33 per cent of its sales to come from autonomous vehicles. By the year 2025, almost half of the vehicles sold will be from its subscription service. Meanwhile, the electric car will comprise 50 per cent of the total sales.

Volvo wants to transform from being a simple carmaker to being a “direct consumer services provider”. The ‘Care By Volvo’ subscription service which was launched with the XC40 was previously aiming at 20 per cent of sales by 2022. Volvo's autonomous technology is developed by Uber. The ridesharing/taxi cab company is currently testing a fleet of XC90s for perfecting the autonomous system. Despite the fatal pedestrian collision that happened recently during one of the testings, Volvo is set to supply 24,000 XC90 SUV to Uber between 2019 and 2021. 

The autonomous system is presently working on Level 2 in all the cars on all the Volvo’s line-up. The carmaker will now skip the Level 3 and jump straight to the Level 4 system with the help of Uber. The Level 5 autonomy won’t happen until it becomes foolproof, according to the carmaker. Their very own autonomous car will arrive in 2021. Meanwhile, the first all-electric Volvo is due next year. It will share its electric powertrain with parent company Geely’s electric vehicles.

Hakan Samuelsson, president and CEO, Volvo Cars Corporation, commenting on the newly set goals, said, “This paves the way for Volvo Cars to continue growing fast into the middle of the next decade. The company has been transformed since 2010 into a global premium car company. Now it's time for this transformation to be turned into a period of sustained profitability in line with other premium brands.”