2004 Volvo Xc70 Base Wagon 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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Volvo's product road map includes five EVs and two PHEVs

Volvo recently hosted a gathering in Miami for North and South American retailers. A few attendees, perhaps proud of what Volvo had to say, shared some details on the proceedings with Automotive News. Volvo's pledge to become an all-EV brand by 2030 will commence with five new electric vehicles and two plug-in hybrids in the coming years. First up is a full-sized, three-row crossover said to get its vibe from the Concept Recharge. We figure this will be the long-rumored and occasionally canceled XC100, but that's only an educated guess. We've seen no spy shots of such a vehicle yet, but AN reports sales aspirations for the full-sizer are about 20,000 units for next year. If that's the case, something should appear soon. Around two years after the potential XC100 comes an EV codenamed V546 that AN reported on earlier this month. Said to slot in between the 185-inch-long XC60 and 195-inch-long XC90, this tweener could be about the length of the 189-inch Ford Edge. The sources claim it will ride on a new electric platform, which could be the SPA2 bones that will support the coming electric XC90 and that the Concept Recharge electric crossover study (pictured) sits on. This one goes into production in the U.S., at Volvos' Ridgeville, South Carolina plant, and in China. The plan is to sell 100,000 units annually. At some point, the XC60 small midsize crossover gets a battery-electric variant. The fourth EV will be a dinky silent runner that slides in under the XC40 Recharge. Referred to in the past as the XC10, XC20 and XC30, previous reportage claims this will ride on the Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) sourced from parent company Geely. The fifth EV was only mentioned as being a sedan, which is another mysterious entry. The S90 and XC90 are getting new PHEV generations, the crossover still expected to inaugurate proper names to the Swedish automaker's lineup. Volvo's planning a hiring spree for the South Carolina plant that only makes the S60 sedan at the moment. One of the new EV crossovers will start down lines there later this year, along with Polestar's middleweight performance crossover, then the potential XC100 (or whatever its proper name is) begins assembly there in 2023.  Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

California adapts ZEV mandate with PHEVs for smaller automakers

California is the nation's largest market for zero-emissions vehicles with over 100,000 of them estimated to be on the roads there. The state's goal is to keep that number growing every year. To that end, the California Air Resources Board is now tweaking its rules in a way that might not boost ZEVs but could mean more plug-in hybrids for the Golden State. Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, and Volvo asked for an exemption to the state's zero-emissions vehicle mandate last year due to their relatively small development budgets compared to larger automakers. CARB denied their request but did craft a compromise, according to Automotive News. Rather than being required to offer a ZEV in the state, companies with an annual global revenue of less than $40 billion, like those in this group, may instead sell plug-in hybrids to earn ZEV credits. The companies aren't completely off the hook, though. If these plug-in hybrids don't earn enough credits, the corporations must buy them on the market to make up the difference. Automakers with popular electric models like Nissan and Tesla have made a big business through this trading system by selling their surplus to rivals. Tesla alone pocketed $51 million in the first quarter from this part of its business, according to Automotive News. The changes to the regulations also aren't set in stone, yet. CARB is meeting in 2016 and could adjust things further at that time. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News - sub. req. via Hybrid CarsImage Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images Government/Legal Green Jaguar Land Rover Mazda Mitsubishi Subaru Volvo Emissions Electric Hybrid California zev credits zero emissions vehicle

These are the cars with the best and worst depreciation after 5 years

The average new vehicle sold in America loses nearly half of its initial value after five years of ownership. No surprise there; we all expect that shiny new car to start depreciating as soon as we drive it off the lot. But some vehicles lose value a lot faster than others. According to data provided by iSeeCars.com, trucks and truck-based sport utility vehicles generally hold their value better than other vehicle types, with the Jeep Wrangler — in both four-door Unlimited and standard two-door styles — and Toyota Tacoma sitting at the head of the pack. The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited's average five-year depreciation of 30.9% equals a loss in value of $12,168. That makes Jeep's four-door off-roader the best overall pick for buyers looking to minimize depreciation. The Toyota Tacoma's 32.4% loss in initial value means it loses just $10,496. The smaller dollar amount — the least amount of money lost after five years — indicates that Tacoma buyers pay less than Wrangler Unlimited buyers, on average, when they initially buy the vehicle. The standard two-door Jeep Wrangler is third on the list, depreciating 32.8% after five years and losing $10,824. Click here for a full list of the top 10 vehicles with the least depreciation over five years. On the other side of the depreciation coin, luxury sedans tend to plummet in value at a much faster rate than other vehicle types. The BMW 7 Series leads the losers with a 72.6% drop in value after five years, which equals an alarming $73,686. BMW's slightly smaller 5 Series is next, depreciating 70.1%, or $47,038, over the same period. Number three on the biggest losers list is the Nissan Leaf, the only electric vehicle to appear in the bottom 10. The electric hatchback matches the 5 Series with a 70.1% drop in value, but since it's a much cheaper vehicle, that percentage equals a much smaller $23,470 loss. Click here for a full list of the top 10 vehicles with the most depreciation over five years.