No More Gas-Only Volvos To Be Made After 2019

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NEW YORK (CBSMiami) - Volvo is going all in on electric cars.

The Swedish automaker has announced that every car it makes from 2019 onward will have an electric motor. This would make Volvo the first traditional carmaker to slam the brakes on the internal combustion engine and make the shift to pure electric and hybrid production.

Volvo executives said the decision made to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles.

"This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car," said Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson.

Volvo plans to launch five fully electric cars in the next few years. That will put it in direct competition with Tesla which so far has had no serious rivals when it comes to pure electric cars.

Volvo's shift to electric was likely driven by Chinese carmaker Geely which bought Volvo in 2010. China has been quick to embrace electric vehicles. More than half of the world's electric cars are sold in China and the government said it wants five million electric cars on the road by 2020.