Interview with Volvo CEO Jim Rowan: “We will approach Tesla’s numbers”

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Volvo recently introduced a new entry-level model, the EX30, and a minivan, the EM90; both are electric. Volvo wants to gain points in three main markets: Europe, China and the USA. We met with Volvo CEO Jim Rowan, 58, to talk about his strategy and the immediate future of his brand.

Mr Rowan, Volvo will say goodbye to diesel in 2024. And will you soon learn about plug-in hybrid technology?
Jim Rowan: We still have testing facilities in our global research and development centres, but we are no longer investing in plug-in hybrid technology. We’ve done our best to increase the range of our XC60 PHEV and XC90 PHEV plug-in models. We used the same space and platform layout but increased the range with a battery with higher energy density and improved power electronics.

Isn’t it a strange idea that Volvo wants to produce only electric cars in six years?
Not at all. Tesla, the world’s No. 1 seller of electric cars, has been doing this for years and sells a lot of cars. If we do this, we will not be walking on thin ice. Tesla is the market leader in sales figures and the most successful car manufacturer in terms of market value. This is proof that you can already be very successful as a fully electric car brand today.

Volvo is moving quickly and consistently to e-mobility. Other brands take more time. What bothers us consumers is that automakers don’t come together on charging infrastructure.
Yes unfortunately. We, the producers, are all in the same boat. There is no point in setting up different charging networks for users. Regardless of whether it is DCS or Ionity. We have an agreement with Tesla in the USA to use charging stations. I believe this will be an example to follow in Europe and other regions.

Many of your colleagues describe e-mobility as the biggest revolution in automobile manufacturing in the last 100 years and complain…
…and you also overlook the fact that it offers many advantages. I am a manufacturing engineer, I come from the technology sector and have a master’s degree in supply chains. I know how complex supply chains are for combustion technology; different volumes, different piston sizes, piston rings, cylinder heads, etc. For all engines with . With e-mobility this is much simpler. Maybe two sizes have an electric motor and a battery. Simply add more modules or reduce the size to achieve different performance in different vehicle segments. You get the torque for free.

After all, isn’t there a reason why new electric cars are more expensive than equivalent combustion cars?
Neither are they, at least not with us. Even in the price-sensitive small car segment. We are offering our new EX30 for $35,000 (starting from 36,800 Fr. in Switzerland, editor’s note). What I should have listened to was that we were going to destroy our profit margin. This is not true. Most automakers are very secretive about their margins on electric and internal combustion cars. We are transparent. The cost of lithium can change the equation a little bit from time to time, but today we have a nine percent margin on electric cars. And with the EX30 we will increase that to 15 to 20 percent. I assure you that this is no less than the margin for internal combustion engines.

Can you prove this?
Our international dealers always ask me this. I’m just saying: Seven months from now, when we present the results of the second quarter of 2024, everyone will see how many EX30s we have sold. Then it becomes clear how high the profit margin of the vehicle is. I promise you we will be the only ones that come close to Tesla’s numbers on this issue. And we will be among the first among traditional companies to achieve balance and report reasonable e-car sales figures and profit margins.

Source: Blick