With the introduction of its new C40 Recharge on Tuesday,Volvo became the latest automaker to bet that consumers who have so far been uninterested to the idea of an EV (electric vehicle) might change their minds if it comes in a form of cars they love：the crossover(跨界车). Whether they do may be vital to the success of California's plan to end sales of gasoline cars by 2035.
Volvo joins Ford of Europe and Jaguar in promoting EVs,promising every car it makes and sells by 2030 will be all-electric. In a webcast to introduce the new vehicle,the company also laid out a new sale strategy—the C40 and all electric Volvo cars will be available for purchase only online. A group of electric crossovers has hit the market in recent months,including the Ford Mustang Mach-E,the Tesla Model-Y and the Volkswagen ID. 4.
Whether customers flock (群集) to crossover EVs will signal to regulators how much or how little work they need to do to meet the plans such as California's. Despite the state's aggressive plan,sales of all-electric vehicles remain less than 2% of the US total.
"The manufacturers are taking a calculated risk here,"said Matt DeLorenzo of auto market research firm Kelley Blue Book. "Crossovers are popular with the mainstream. That's where the volume is. "
Electric cars sold in the US until recently were short-range ones or high-end luxury cars,neither one a high-volume category. In 2020,2. 4 million crossovers were sold in the US. "If you can't sell an electric crossover,then you'll have trouble selling any kind of vehicle," DeLorenzo said.
To sell in large numbers,the vehicles will in the first place need continued government financial support for the next few years at least,Edmunds market analyst Caldwell said. Although battery costs are coming down,they still cost significantly more than gas engines. Although crossovers will serve as an early indicator of customer acceptance, Caldwell said she wouldn't call 2021 a make-or-break year for EV makers.
