S60 IS FIRST VOLVO TO DITCH DIESEL

Volvo has announced that its upcoming S60 saloon will be the first model in its current range not to offer a diesel engine.

In a signal of its plan to abandon diesel altogether, the Swedish firm has said the S60 will only be available with petrol and hybrid powertrains.

Initially, the S 60 will be offered with a range of fourcylinder petrol units and two petrol/ electric plug- in hybrids when it goes on sale later this year. Mild hybrid models will be introduced next year.

Volvo has said that all new models launched from 2019 will be available as either a mild petrol hybrid, plug- in petrol hybrid or battery electric vehicle, and it plans for 50 per cent of its global sales to be pure EV by 2025.

“Our future is electric and we will no longer develop a new generation of diesel engines,” saidHåk an Samuels son, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars. “We will phase out cars with only an internal combustion engine, with petrol hybrid versions as a transitional option as we move towards full electrification. The S60 represents the next step in that commitment.”

The new S60, is a premium mid- size sports saloon, based on Volvo’ s in-house- developed Scalable Product Architecture( SPA) platform.

The S 60’ se state sibling, the V60, was launched earlier this year in Stockholm.