When Volvo Australia announced it would stop selling petrol cars by the year 2026, John Johnson said it was the end of an era.
Mr Johnson is the secretary of the Volvo Club of Victoria and the proud owner of 15 Volvo vehicles.
As a fan of the brand, the company's decision to ditch petrol came as a bit of a shock.
"I suppose this is just one more thing of protecting the future," Mr Johnson told ABC Radio Mornings.
"Volvo has always been an innovative sort of brand … they've always been in the forefront of safety and innovation."
This week, the Swedish manufacturer turned up the pressure on the likes of Toyota another notch by announcing it would stop selling petrol-powered cars in Australia within four years.
Instead, Volvo would only supply "fully electric" cars by 2026 – four years ahead of a similar, global commitment.
Mr Johnson believed 2026 might be too soon for fans of the vehicle.
"We need more time than that, we've got to get the infrastructure in place," he said.
"It's a sign of the times."
Converting your car to electric
Mr Johnson thinks the petrol-powered Volvos are here to stay, no matter the future of the company that made them.
He is confident people will maintain their vehicles for years to come.
But while the outsides will remain vintage, the insides may not.
"If they liked their old car, and they're prepared to spend the money, [they could] convert it to electric," Mr Johnson said.
That is exactly what fellow Volvo enthusiast and editor of the Victorian Volvo Club's magazine Greg Sievert has done.
Mr Sievert and his partner, both engineers, decided to embark on this challenge back in 2010.
They chose an old Volvo 240 Wagon as "a good candidate" for the conversion.
After a few months of hard work, and about $25,000, they had their very own electric vehicle (EV).
"It's been on the road since 2011, still going strong," Mr Sievert said.
Mr Sievert said Volvo Australia's announcement this week was "pretty exciting".
"I think Volvo is one of the car makers that probably has the best chance of getting in early and making the leap to all-electric," he said.
Mr Johnson admits more people are likely to follow Mr Sievert's footsteps as the push towards an EV industry accelerates.
"I think EV conversion … that's the next generation of things that are happening," he said.
"It is a big business. It's going to only get bigger as time goes on."
