What if we could just plug in a car instead of fueling up at every costly gas station? We would certainly have a little more change in our pockets, that’s for sure. The plug in car concept may be coming to life, in a more easily accessible way, sooner than you think. Volvo, the popular and well known automotive company is partnering up with Vattenfall to create and release a hybrid plug in car in the year 2012. This car would be plugged into any standard wall socket.

The cars will be initially released in Sweden and will be produced in a series. In this series of cars there will be vehicles that can either be fueled by diesel or by socket power. Vattenfall and Volvo will be working together to create the charging systems for the vehicles and additionally, provide emphasis in the companies on electricity as a practical source of energy which could counteract global warming.

Volvo and Vattenfall argue that electricity is a highly suitable source of energy for vehicles. An electric motor has a high efficiency rating and consumes roughly one-fifth the energy needed to power an engine that runs on fossil fuels. So what’s the catch? Well, the catch of course is that these electricity running engines do often run at a higher price point, meaning they may make a slightly bigger dent in your pocket at first. However, despite a greater purchase price, these cars make up for it in the massive amounts of money being saved on gas.

In the summer of 2009, three Volvo V70 demonstration cars were presented. The cars are still under the magnifying glass of both Volvo’s and Vattenfall’s dream team of engineers, but are soon to be released in the predicted year of 2012 across the sea in Sweden. We’re all just looking forward to plugging on in ourselves!