Swedish carmaker Volvo is considering starting an assembly line in India.
“At the moment, there is no decision taken on that, but constantly, at the headquarters, we are looking at new assembly plants, which could be in US, Mexico, Brazil or India. There is a possibility in the future, but at the moment, there is no plan,” said Tomas Ernberg, managing director, Volvo Auto India.
“At the moment, there is no decision taken on that, but constantly, at the headquarters, we are looking at new assembly plants, which could be in US, Mexico, Brazil or India. There is a possibility in the future, but at the moment, there is no plan,” said Tomas Ernberg, managing director, Volvo Auto India.
The company, which was taken over by the Chinese company Geely Automobile in 2010, currently imports cars from Sweden.
Ernberg said it is also looking to ramp up presence in the luxury cars space and plans to launch into newer segments.
Volvo currently has four vehicles in its portfolio — XC90, XC60, S80 and S60.
The company will launch one more product by the end of this fiscal, said Ernberg.
It could also look at newer segments such as support utility vehicles and crossovers, considering products like BMW X1 and Audi Q3 are gaining significant volumes for competitors, he said. “Perhaps in future we’ll see some product in this category. All brands are looking at crossovers. Small sports utility vehicles are becoming important, not just in India but worldwide. Everybody is investing in this.”
For Volvo Auto, India is among the most critical markets globally. In order to tap the growing potential of the Indian market, the company has also increased its investments in people, marketing spends and office space.
It has a target of selling 20,000 vehicles in India by 2020.
The company sold 320 cars in India last year and expects a growth of about 300% this year.
“Though the market is low currently, we feel the luxury market will continue to grow,” said Ernberg.
No comments:
Post a Comment