Volvo plans assembly facility for expansion
NEW DELHI: Volvo is looking for expansion in India. It is planning to set up an assembly operation here to have price-competitive products to counter German rivals such as Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW and Tatas-owned Jaguar Land Rover.
The Swedish carmaker owned by China's Geely has been on the fringes of the luxury car market despite a near-decade long presence in the country.
The push by the company comes at a time when the luxury car market makes a gradual recovery on the back of economic growth and aggressive model launches and retail expansion by companies.
"Our volumes may be low in India, but we have been growing. An assembly operation is being worked upon and may happen soon, once a final decision is taken by the headquarters," Tom von Bonsdorff, managing director of the company's Indian business, told TOI.
"Absence of local assembly operations does not necessarily slow down our growth here as we have still managed a competitive pricing. We want to sell a lot more cars as Volvo's product portfolio in India is priced between Rs 26 lakh for the V40 premium hatchback and Rs 1.25 crore for the hybrid version of the XC90 SUV (prices ex-showroom Delhi).
Other models being sold by the company include sedans such as S60 and S90, XC60 SUV and performance vehicle S60 Polestar, which has been launched recently.
The market for luxury cars in India is dominated by German companies and saw sales of around 36,000 units last year. Volvo sold around 1,600 units last year and Bonsdorff said the volume can cross 2,000 units this year. "We see buoyancy and demand is there."
Volvo's plans for a local assembly can be understood by the fact that imported cars carry a duty of over 100%. While Mercedes assembles cars from a factory in Pune, rival BMW has a facility in Chennai. Audi assembles cars in Aurangabad and this is shared with group company Skoda.
The Swedish carmaker owned by China's Geely has been on the fringes of the luxury car market despite a near-decade long presence in the country.
The push by the company comes at a time when the luxury car market makes a gradual recovery on the back of economic growth and aggressive model launches and retail expansion by companies.
"Our volumes may be low in India, but we have been growing. An assembly operation is being worked upon and may happen soon, once a final decision is taken by the headquarters," Tom von Bonsdorff, managing director of the company's Indian business, told TOI.
"Absence of local assembly operations does not necessarily slow down our growth here as we have still managed a competitive pricing. We want to sell a lot more cars as Volvo's product portfolio in India is priced between Rs 26 lakh for the V40 premium hatchback and Rs 1.25 crore for the hybrid version of the XC90 SUV (prices ex-showroom Delhi).
Other models being sold by the company include sedans such as S60 and S90, XC60 SUV and performance vehicle S60 Polestar, which has been launched recently.
The market for luxury cars in India is dominated by German companies and saw sales of around 36,000 units last year. Volvo sold around 1,600 units last year and Bonsdorff said the volume can cross 2,000 units this year. "We see buoyancy and demand is there."
Volvo's plans for a local assembly can be understood by the fact that imported cars carry a duty of over 100%. While Mercedes assembles cars from a factory in Pune, rival BMW has a facility in Chennai. Audi assembles cars in Aurangabad and this is shared with group company Skoda.
