Volvo Launches S60 Diesel Plug-In Hybrid Output

Volvo is ramping up production of the Volvo V60 plug-in hybrid, which it says will be the world’s first diesel PHEV.

An initial batch of 1,000 ’13 model year units is now being made at the auto maker’s Torslanda plant in Gothenburg, Sweden, and production is scheduled to increase to 4,000-6,000 units annually beginning with the ’14 model.

“The first year’s 1,000-car batch was sold out even before the car reached showrooms and the order books for next year’s cars are already filling up,” says Peter Mertens, senior vice president-research and development.

The auto maker says production of the S60 PHEV, which will have a 31-mile (50-km) all-electric range, has been integrated into the Torslanda line with other models, which will allow consumers to purchase all options available on the standard S60.

Volvo teamed with Swedish electricity supplier Vattenfall to finance production of the S60 PHEV, the auto maker says.