The Future Goal Is To Achieve Completely Carbon Neutral Or Fully Electric Cars: Charles Frump, Managing Director, Volvo Car India

The worldwide coronavirus outbreak made people realise the value of the most obvious gifts nature has given to us including air, water, and the ecosystem. The nature and resources are equally there for everyone and making it available for our next generation is our sole responsibility, believes Charles Frump, Managing Director, Volvo Car India.

Speaking at BW Sustainability Dialogues, Frump talks about how automakers are accepting and executing a more sustainable approach. Mentioning about the importance of sustainability for Volvo Car India, Frump said that it is on the top priority list, along with safety and sustainability, which is already there in their DNA.

Talking about the journey of Volvo in India he mentions: “We were the first automaker to bring plug-in hybrid cars to India.” Explaining on specific and extensive technologies, he shared the next launch of Volvo is Volvo XC 40 Full Electric SUV and added the ultimate full electric car is a big step for us.

Appreciating the Swedish Leadership, he clearly said that the Swedish leaders are vision-based, and they are focused to look at what they want to achieve. Talking about the future visions, he mentions the most prominent visions to achieve by 2025 are; to fully carbon neutral and 50 per cent of Volvo cars to be fully electric.

To achieve a bigger goal, the small steps need to be taken. Emphasising on safety, he said, 20 years back at Volvo the core safety vision was ‘zero people killed’ and it is still evolving. Heading towards, the future goal is to achieve cars completely carbon neutral or fully electric.
He also shared that the company is heading towards manufacturing a completely electric car and is making sure to have an environmentally-friendly way to deal with batteries after the life of a car. Frump mentioned, “We are transitioning from diesel to petrol, bringing hybrid to India; we are taking it step by step and the big swing will be when we switch to fully electric cars.”
Vovlo Cars have been recognised by the UN for its groundbreaking electrification strategy. The company’s major reason for choosing electrification is sustainability.
Looking at sustainability and recyclability, while talking about making the whole process green, he shared “We are proud to announce that our latest and first factory in Chengdu, China is using 100 per cent renewable energy that will hopefully set an example for others.”

He also added: “Our plans are not big enough to make an impact but Volvo Cars can play an inspiring role for others by being the leader in this area.”
Thinking from the customers’ perspective and understanding the financial crunch during the crisis hit situation, he firmly believed customers are going to pay more to go green, and by bringing this vehicle and best technologies, people will lead the way.
Talking about the luxury cars, he said only 1 per cent of cars in India are luxury cars. There is a gap between the tax rate of luxury cars and non-luxury cars. He believed that “When you shift to electric vehicles that gap will lower, and as the result of electrification, I see a lot more luxury cars to be bought and the technology will become affordable because of the lower tax rate and lower differentiation.”
On the note of being an action-oriented approach towards making the world more greened and cleaner, he accepted that we all are the part of the problem and we will have to take our responsibilities.