Volvo considering local production

The Indian luxury vehicle market is growing leaps and bounds every year and we’ve said this a lot of times. While the German trio, i.e. Mercedes, Audi and BMW are fighting it out aggressively, Jaguar too is trying to march ahead. Volvo is another company that resides in this segment but the Swedish company has had a not-so-satisfactory innings in India.

Volvo has sold only CBU vehicles in India and despite them being very capable, the company hasn’t really managed to make a mark in any segment. The automaker is now looking to begin local production at various locations across the world and India too features in this list. Volvo is studying the feasibility of commencing production in India.

The company spoke to various other manufacturers like Mahindra, General Motors and Hindustan Motors about using their existing production facilities to assemble Volvo vehicles here. While Mahindra and General Motors refused to comment, Hindustan Motors ruled out any such possibility. The decision whether local production will actually be implemented or not will be taken by the end of this year itself.

Local production also means that customers could get cost benefits which is quite a good thing. Currently, Volvo sells the V40 Cross Country, S60 and S80 sedans and XC60 and XC90 SUVs in India, all of which are brought down via the fully imported route. The company revealed the all-new XC90 recently and it is a big step ahead of the present generation model and a proper rival to other competing brands.

The new XC90 will turn around Volvo’s fortunes while the automaker also gears up for the launch of the new S60 T6 sedan. Volvo sold 1200 units in India last year and is aiming to sell 2000 units this year. By 2020, the company wants to sell 10,000 units and acquire at least 10 per cent market share in the sub-continent.