Volvo increases plug-in hybrid sales 80%, nears 2020 target

Volvo Cars increased global sales of its plug-in hybrids by 80 percent in the first half led by strong demand in Europe. The sales surge put Volvo in position to reach its target of having electrified models account for 20 percent of its worldwide volume this year.

"In the first half 14 percent of the cars we sold globally were hybrids," Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson told Automotive News Europe in a telephone interview. "In Europe, it was close to a quarter of the cars we sold."