Volvo joins race to go all-electric by 2030 and will shift all sales online

Volvo has outlined a roadmap to an all-electric future for its cars by 2030, with all sales to follow Tesla's lead and become online-only.

The Swedish carmaker, which is owned by China's Geely, joins other major brands to have set a clear path away from petrol and diesel-powered vehicles in recent weeks and months as a surging number of countries move to outlaw fossil fuel engines.

The UK has set a deadline of 2030 for a ban on sales of new petrol and diesel models as part of its commitment to tackle climate change.

Volvo projected that 50% of its global sales would be fully-electric by 2025 and the other half hybrid models.

It said that hybrids would also be banished from its line-up by 2030.

Ahead of the launch of the company's second all-electric car, the C40, Volvo said a whole new range would be revealed over the coming years in the run-up to the deadline.

The drive for electric vehicles has been an expensive one for the industry in recent years - during a time of falling car sales, even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

Volvo joins the likes of Jaguar Land Rover, Ford and Bentley in committing over the past three months to targets for the demise of new petrol and diesel models.

While electric sales are rising fast across Europe, they are yet to catch traditionally-powered models which are currently being sold at attractive prices to shift excess stocks.

Volvo's chief executive, Håkan Samuelsson, said he was convinced that electric was most attractive to consumers though he admitted in a Sky News interview some nerves over whether charging networks would be fully in place to support its goal.

"We need to do our part also independently. We cannot sit and wait for the infrastructure. We need to bring out cars and we are talking about a transition period of 10 years so I'm quite confident that will happen.

"The more electric cars are brought out, the more investments will be made in infrastructure", he said."

The company said a simpler offering of electric models would result in "transparent pricing" for consumers.

Volvo was to follow Tesla, which announced its move in 2019, in making sales online-only but it said it would be keeping its network of showrooms open to allow for servicing and sales assistance.