Volvo president and chief executive Hakan Samuelsson said the announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car.

"Volvo Cars has stated that it plans to have sold a total of a million electrified cars by 2025. When we said it we meant it. This is how we are going to do it."

The move makes Volvo the first traditional automaker to set a date to phase out cars powered only by internal combustion engines.

The company said it will launch five fully electric cars between 2019 and 2021. Three of these will be Volvos, and two will be sold under the company's Polestar "electrified performance brand".

As it is committed to electrification, from 2019 all new Volvo car models will include an electric motor.

"This is about the customer," Samuelsson's statement said. "People increasingly demand electrified cars and we want to respond to our customers' current and future needs."

In addition to meeting customer demand, the move to electric will help the company reduce its carbon footprint and improve air quality, Samuelsson said.

Last week, BMW announced it would introduce an all-electric version of its 3-Series line of cars, in what could be an attempt to compete with Tesla's Model 3.

Ford sold Volvo to the Chinese car company Geely for $1.8 billion in 2010. Volvo, founded in 1927, said that production of its new electric cars would be worldwide, beginning in China and followed by Europe and its new factory in the United States. The company said it had not yet chosen a battery supplier, and urged more development and competition in the battery industry.