Volvo deep-sixes diesel engines and soon gasoline engines

Volvo's future is 100% electric

Volvo announced Wednesday that from 2019 it will no longer launch cars fitted with diesel engines.

It follows the automaker's announcement last July that every car it launches from 2019 will feature some form of electrification, whether it be mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid or pure electric power.

The move is significant as many of Volvos cars are sold in Europe, where diesel sales are still significant even after the recent diesel scandal. Diesel demand in Europe is on the wane however, so we can expect more automakers to follow Volvo's lead, especially as electrification performance and costs improve.

Volvo's first new model without a diesel option will be the redesigned S60 small sedan, which is set for a reveal this spring ahead of a showroom arrival late this year.

Volvo sees its future as a 100 percent electric brand, like Tesla. It means the automaker will eventually phase out gasoline engines as well. CEO Hakan Samuelsson in February revealed that Volvo has already stopped allocating funds for further development of internal combustion technology.

"Our future is electric," Samuelsson reiterated Wednesday. "We will phase out cars with only an internal combustion engine, with [gasoline] hybrid versions as a transitional option as we move towards full electrification."