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Håkan Samuelsson: outgoing Volvo boss and electric car pioneer

Having ensured the Swedish firm led the switch away from fossil fuels, its former boss is full of praise for Tesla – but has no regrets about filling city streets with SUVs

Håkan Samuelsson was a relatively late convert to electric cars. He took over as boss of Volvo in 2012, but it was only three or four years later that he realised he needed to oversee the biggest shift in the company’s history: ending the use of fossil fuels.

Since then, Volvo has committed to making no more petrol or diesel cars after 2030. That will be the fastest phase-out of any traditional carmaker of equivalent size, and Volvo has put sustainability at the heart of its branding.

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