Every new Volvo will have an electric motor, starting in 2019

Volvo said Wednesday that starting in 2019 every car it makes will be equipped with an electric motor, signaling an auto industry shift toward electrified cars and China’s intention to become a major global player in that market.

Volvo, owned by Chinese automaker Geely, said all its new cars with be fully electric or electric hybrids, with five pure electric models on the market by 2021.

The company becomes the first traditional automaker to commit to total electrification.

“This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion-engine powered car,” Volvo Chief Executive Hakan Samuelsson said in a conference call with reporters. “People increasingly demand electrified cars, and we want to respond to our customers’ current and future needs.”

Although pure-electric cars have yet to excite consumers enough to buy them in large numbers — market penetration in the U.S. remains below 1 percent — governments in China, Europe and, to some extent, the U.S. are offering incentives and issuing mandates to boost sales. India and some European countries are seriously considering banning internal combustion engines.

The Volvo news does not signal the end of the internal combustion engine. The company’s definition of electrified includes mild hybrid cars — vehicles with small electric motors that allow traditional gasoline and diesel engines to turn off at stop lights and get the vehicles moving again before the engines restart.

But with the news, the move to automobile electrification seems to be gaining traction. “Volvo has always been an innovator, and this is a massive change in terms of operating a business,” said Akshay Anand, an analyst at Kelley Blue Book.

Volvo said it aims to reach its target of selling 1 million electrified cars by 2025. The first of the pure electrics will be manufactured in China, but eventually they will be built in factories in Europe and the U.S. as well, Samuelsson said.

Henrik Green, senior vice president of research and development, said the pure electrics will be offered with both mid- and long-range battery options, lasting up to about 300 miles, but that the company is looking for battery suppliers with better offerings. The company said a decrease in battery costs and a more robust charging infrastructure will help propel the market.

Volvo has said it is committed to helping improve the environment and make cities cleaner by reducing carbon emissions, aiming to have climate-neutral manufacturing operations by 2025.

Last year, the company had record sales of 534,332 cars in 100 countries, up more than 6 percent from 2015.