The 2012 Volvo hybrid will be powered by an electric motor and an efficient diesel that will offer a fuel economy of 2.0l/100km and a CO2 emissions level of 50g/km. You’ll be able to “fuel” the 2012 Volvo hybrid from a household wall socket in around 5 hours which will give you a 50 km autonomy.

“We are investing in an industrial joint venture to series-produce plug-in hybrid cars in Sweden in 2012, cars that can be powered by both electricity and diesel. This is an important business development for us and our partnership with Vattenfall allows us to take a giant step toward offering our customers cars with an even smaller environmental footprint,” says Stephen Odell, President and CEO of the Volvo Car Corporation.

The plug-in hybrid cars will be driven by a powerful electric motor fuelled by a lithium-ion battery. The battery takes about five hours to charge from a standard wall socket, and the battery is also charged every time the car’s brakes are applied.

In the summer of 2009, three Volvo V70 demonstration cars will be presented. The demonstration cars will be used to gather information about the wants and needs that drivers may have of the new technology, to determine their driving habits and to establish how they want to charge their cars.