Volvo Cars, the Swedish luxury car company had announced its Make-in-India plans earlier this year. The company has executed its plan and rolled out its first locally assembled car, the luxurious Volvo XC90 SUV from its plant in Bengaluru.
India has shown a great long-term potential for a fast-expanding luxury segment and the decision to assemble Volvo Cars locally has provided the company a strong platform to achieve 10% segment share by the end of the decade.
Volvo Cars is working together with Volvo Group India – the truck, bus, construction equipment and Penta engines manufacturer – for its assembly operations. The company is making use of Volvo Group India’s existing infrastructure and production licenses near Bengaluru.
The focus for local assembly will be on models that are based on Volvo’s SPA modular vehicle architecture. Apart from the XC90 more models on the SPA architecture are slated for local assembly. An announcement for the same will happen at a later stage.
“It’s a moment of great pride for all of us at Volvo Cars. The roll-out of first locally assembled Volvo Car speaks volumes for the company’s commitment to grow further in India. The last three years have been good for us in India and we noticed a positive and encouraging growth in terms of increased segment share, world-class product and new dealer appointments. With global standards in quality, we are a formidable luxury car company in India and on-track to gain a bigger share of the segment,” said Charles Frump, the newly appointed Managing Director for Volvo Auto India.
The decision by Volvo Auto India to assemble its models locally reflects the ‘Make in India’ initiative and it will benefit the customers as well. The Indian luxury market is still relatively small when compared to other nations but it is expected to grow many folds in the coming years.
Volvo Cars India currently has a segment share of about 5% which it aims to double by 2020. Volvo Cars in India have had a robust 32% growth in sales volumes in the past two years and the 2017 trend is as per the company’s plan to achieve 2000 cars, which will witness a growth of 25% year-on-year.
Volvo XC90 Images:
