Volvo has delivered its one millionth plug-in hybrid, marking an important milestone in its electrification journey.

The Swedish brand has been a leading maker of plug-in hybrids for over a decade – and says PHEVs are a crucial bridge for drivers not ready to go fully electric yet.

It also lays claim to the highest share of PHEV sales of its total sales among all legacy premium carmakers.

PHEV sales grew from almost 46,000 units in 2019 to over 177,000 units in 2024, underpinned by strong demand for the XC60 and XC90 PHEV in all three main sales regions.

And they accounted for 23% of Volvo Cars’ global sales in the first half of 2025.

“Volvo Cars is committed to a fully electric future, and we will get there in a pace that suits our customers,” said Erik Severinson, chief commercial officer at Volvo Cars. “Our plug-in hybrid cars are a crucial bridge towards that future for those customers who are not yet ready to go fully electric.”

While critics argue that PHEVs are not as clean as their image as some users do not charge them, internal Volvo Cars data shows that its PHEVs are often used as if they were fully electric, especially in urban areas. On average, drivers of Volvo PHEVs use their car without internal combustion power for around half of total driving time.

“While we invest and grow our presence in the growing premium fully electric segment, we will also continue to update and refresh our hybrids,” added Severinson. “This allows more time for charging infrastructure to be built up, thereby easing the transition to a fully electric world.”

Volvo launched its first plug-in hybrid in 2012, when it started selling a diesel PHEV variant of the V60 estate. For several years after, it was the only global carmaker that offered a PHEV version of every model in its line-up.

It currently offers PHEV variants on five different models, alongside a line-up of six fully electric models.

The company also continues to roll out new PHEVs, as demonstrated by the recently launched XC70 SUV. Currently on sale in China and expected to make its way to Europe and the UK shortly, Volvo’s first long-range plug-in hybrid has an electric-only range of over 200km (124 miles), under China’s CLTC testing cycle.

The XC60 was the best-selling PHEV in Europe in 2024 and led the premium PHEV segment globally in the last three years. It continues to be a segment leader in 2025. Both the XC60 and XC90 were updated last year, reinforcing their appeal in key markets such as Sweden, the US and China.