Constructing Imaginaries of Green Reindustrialisation: A Longitudinal Analysis of Volvo’s Electric Vehicle Advertising
Year: 2026
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The transition towards electric mobility has become a major part of green reindus-trialisation and corporate communication plays an increasingly important role in shaping public understanding of this transformation. This thesis looks at how electric vehicle advertisements contribute to creating sociotechnical imaginaries of green reindustrialisation by analysing how visual storytelling and narrative framing present technological progress, sustainability and the future of mobility. The thesis adopts a qualitative longitudinal case study of five Volvo electric vehicle advertisements released between 2009 and 2026: C30 Electric, XC40 Recharge, EX30, EX90, and EX60. A multimodal analytical framework combining Visual Frame Analysis (VFA), Systemic Visual Grammar (SVG), and Kenneth Burke’s Pentad is used to examine how visual, textual, and narrative elements create meaning across the advertisements. The analysis is informed by theories of narratives, framing, storytelling, sociotechnical imaginaries, and the sociology of expectations. The findings demonstrate a longitudinal development in Volvo’s representation of electric mobility. Early advertisements frame electrification as an experimental technological innovation while later adverts progressively normalise EVs by integrating them within everyday life, introducing themes of ethical responsibility, and showing established mobility infrastructures. Overall, the narratives evolve from technological experimentation to infrastructural maturity, extending the concept of promissory discourse by showing how technological promises become assumptions of technological normality. The thesis argues that EV advertising does more than promote products- it functions as cultural storytelling that constructs sociotechnical imaginaries of green reindustrialisation. Across the adverts, electrification is shown as technologically achievable, environmentally responsible and integrated into everyday life, while broader political social and infrastructural challenges are largely absent. As a result, green reindustrialisation is represented as a gradual, technologically managed continuation of existing mobility systems rather than a disruptive societal transformation. Methodologically, the thesis demonstrates the value of combining, VFA, SVG and Burke’s Pentad into a multimodal framework for analysing contemporary visual advertising and its role in shaping collective technological futures.
Source: Aaltodoc (Aalto University)
Author: Ylösjoki, Vilma
Language: English
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204019768