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Volvo won't offer T6 PHEV drivetrain in America

Volvo won't offer T6 PHEV drivetrain in America

The company wants to avoid selling too many variants.

Volvo's T6 Twin Engine drivetrain won't reach American shores anytime soon, the company has confirmed. It prefers to satisfy demand for a plug-in hybrid powertrain with the more powerful -- and more expensive -- T8 Twin Engine setup.

"One thing the customers don't want -- and I would say our partners, retailers, they don't want either -- they don't want too many versions," said Anders Gustafsson, the CEO of Volvo's American division, in an interview with Roadshow.

The T6 and the T8 are related. The T8 is built around a 2.0-liter four-cylinder that's both turbocharged and supercharged. Add an electric motor into the mix and the system's total output checks in at 400 horsepower and 472 pound-feet of torque. The T6 uses the same electric motor but its 2.0-liter makes less power. T6-equipped cars sold in Europe boast 340 horsepower and 435 pound-feet of torque.

Offering the T6 in the United States would be fairly straight-forward, and Gustafsson hasn't completely ruled it out, but he indicated his team is currently focused on simplifying the Volvo line-up. This is less important in Europe, where cars are more often than not built to order rather than chosen from the selection on a dealer's lot.

"If you have too many versions, [customers] always want the car that is parked somewhere else," he said. "Why go for the cheap one when you can sell the big one?"