Last orders for Volvo oil-burners: Swedes build their final diesel car

► Volvo kills off diesel engines altogether
► Final derv Volvo is an XC90 SUV
► Last diesel is built this week at Torslanda

Volvo has formally stopped building diesel engines altogether and the last off the line was an XC90 SUV built at the Torslanda plant in Sweden in late March 2024.

It’s a sign of the times, as the fuel plummets to record lows in the aftermath of the Volkswagen emissions scandal of 2016 and the sudden switch to electrification gripping the industry. Volvo has been quick to pivot and the end of diesel production is hardly a surprise; it confirmed its abandonment at Climate Week in New York in September 2023.

The Swedes have been quick to embrace electrification, gradually adding mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid tech to its range for the past five years – before rolling out fully battery electric vehicles (BEVs) such as the EX30 and EX90.

As recently as 2019, the majority of Volvos sold in Europe refuelled at the black pump, but a deliberate industrial strategy accelerated electrification. In Volvo’s case, this backed petrol-electric hybrids over derv models as a stepping stone to fully electric Volvos.

It’s a move that’s working: in 2023 70% of all Volvos sold in Europe had electrified powertrains (globally the figure stood at 34%).

The end of diesel Volvos brings to an end a 45-year history. Volvo launched its first oil-burner in 1979 with the 244 GL D6 – the world’s first six-cylinder diesel engine in a passenger car.