Alican Emiroğlu on the Future of Electrification and Mobility at Volvo

We meet Alican Emiroğlu on a sunny Friday in March at the headquarters of the brand’s importer in Čestlice near Prague. Alican is bringing the company’s plug-in hybrid X60 Recharge to the photo shoot. “When I’m in the city, I switch to pure electric mode, current technology allows over 70 kilometers on electric drive,” he says. “But my wife has an all-electric C40 Recharge, so we are green drivers at home,” he adds with a smile.

He adores cars since his childhood in Ankara, Turkey, when he watched series like Miami Vice or Knight Rider on TV. “My dream car was a white Ferrari Testarossa like the one Don Johnson drove in Miami Vice. And also the Pontiac Trans Am from Knight Rider.” We’re having fun thinking that David Hasselhoff’s talking sports car foreshadowed today’s phenomenon of artificial intelligence. “Yes, it was kind of the first version of Siri.”

The Alican fits itself as a die-hard car fanatic who loved classic engines but now enjoys driving an EV. “The calmness is contagious. When I’m in my plug-in and suddenly the drive switches to gasoline, the noise shocks me. You get used to the silence very quickly.” When asked if he would return to internal combustion engines, he shakes his head. “I would take the C70 cabrio at most for adventure weekends, but not in regular traffic.”

So is the future definitely electric? “This is, of course, up for a long discussion – will we be fully electric, or will hydrogen and alternative fuel engines also come on board? What is certain is that the only thing that is being addressed now is the timing. In each country of the European Union, they have a slightly different route, different timing. In Nordic countries such as Norway, they account for eighty percent of EV sales. Sales are also growing elsewhere, in North America, in China… It’s inevitable,” says the head of Czech Volvo.

“From Volvo’s perspective, electrification is something we are committed to. There is no doubt for us. As a brand you have to make a clear strategic decision, it is not possible to focus on everything. Our path has become full electrification from 2030. But we are still exploring other options,” adds the likeable man in his forties, who has been working in the domestic representative office since November 2020. However, due to the covid epidemic, he only got to Prague in May of the following year.

Alican Emiroğlu started working for Volvo right after school. This year it will be twenty-two years. So he is a heartthrob – after all, loyalty to this iconic Swedish brand (now with Chinese majority ownership) is also known among customers. What will the next ten years look like for Volvo? “We are facing a big change. Our model range will be completely different. Since last year, we have already committed to coming to the market with at least one or two fully electric cars every year.”

The automaker will open a new factory exclusively for EV vehicles in Slovakia’s Košice. And how does Alican see the future of mobility in general? “Electrification is developing incredibly fast. EV range exceeding a thousand kilometers is only a matter of a few years. You can then easily charge your car in fifteen minutes,” he says.

At the same time, he points out that electrification does not necessarily mean sustainability. The way electricity is produced must also change. “If we can manage the transition to sustainable solutions, I think the number of cars will stay the same or even increase. But of course we have to think about the planet. That’s why internal combustion engines should be limited.”

But won’t the car market also be transformed by phenomena like carsharing? “I think the market will, on the contrary, support it, it’s another channel to get our car to people. Even now, even though you own a car, you don’t often drive it into the city. And carsharing will help in this, for example, they will have their own reserved parking spaces.” The traditionally progressive brand with the hallmark of the love brand already has another recipe for reaching customers. “We are ceasing to be a traditional car manufacturer. We will offer a mobility solution,” he explains.

“Subscription options are gradually being introduced on the markets, where equipment and services are precisely tailored to a specific customer. This will also come to the Czech Republic. If he wants to own a car, there are easy options for him. If he wants to rent them, forms of leasing and subscription are offered, carsharing will be added in the future. The customer does not have to contact different companies – we will provide everything for him.”