Electric vehicle buyers fret about range. Investors in Volvo Cars have similar worries about the staying power of the carmaker’s new strategy.

The company has promised to end production of internal combustion cars by 2030. Sales of battery-powered cars and SUVs are growing at double-digit rates. Yet its share price trails European competitors and EV specialists. Since it listed, its market value has dropped by over a third.

There are good reasons for this. The company, which is majority-owned by China’s Geely, may not meet its targets. Although EV sales have grown 27 per cent over two years, not all of that expansion is profitable. Polestar, Volvo’s upmarket EV brand, loses money. Volvo owns a 48 per cent share of Polestar. Its losses, plus those of other associates, weigh on group operating earnings. Polestar will not go into the black until 2025, according to analysts’ estimates on Visible Alpha.