The India unit of Swedish carmaker Volvo aims to reduce its reliance on conventional fuels and is planning to have 50 per cent of its vehicles powered with non-fossil fuel by 2030. Volvo has already announced that it will move towards electric cars and will end the production of diesel cars by early 2024. Volvo Group President and Managing Director in India Kamal Bali, said that the company has set a target to become net zero in terms of carbon emission by 2040.

"At Volvo, we have set target that by 2030, 50 per cent of our vehicles will be non-fossil fuel-based. They will be non-polluting. Balance 50 per cent will become non-zero emission by 2040," Bali said, as quoted by PTI.

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He said that the transport industry accounts for 20 per cent of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions and if automobile companies take a pledge to reduce emissions then it will bring a huge change in the environment. "We have also pledged that 35 per cent of all employees at leadership level and other levels will be women. We see this as part of sustainability," Bali said.

Volvo, earlier this month also discontinued its compact SUV model, XC40, in India. The XC40 has been replaced with the XC40 Recharge, an all-electric iteration of its ICE counterpart. The Volvo XC40 Recharge is also offered in a single fully-loaded variant that is available at an ex-showroom price of Rs 56.90 lakh.

The Volvo XC40 Recharge is the company's second electric car after the Swedish carmaker unveiled its first fully-electric luxury MPV, the EM90. The EM90 is specifically developed for the Chinese market and will be launched in other international markets later on.

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In September, Volvo announced that it would end production of any remaining diesel models by early 2024 as it heads towards becoming an all-electric carmaker. "In a few months from now, the last diesel-powered Volvo car will have been built, making Volvo Cars one of the first legacy car makers to take this step," the carmaker said in a statement.