Volvo India, the subsidiary arm of the Swedish luxury car manufacturer has launched the SUV XC90 in India. It is the first made in India Volvo car that is locally being assembled at brand’s Hoskote-based plant near Bengaluru. From the variants, only the diesel trim will be assembled at the said facility while the T8 plug-in-hybrid of the same will continue to mark its presence at the dealerships across India all the way through CBU route. The commencement of local assembly of the XC90 SUV has already been confirmed by the auto major early this year in May.
If the projected targets of the Volvo is concerned, it will initially focus on products based on the SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) modular vehicle platform. The abovementioned Volvo Group’s manufacturing unit near Bengaluru, look after the development of trucks, busses, Penta engines and construction equipment. Also, the Volvo XC90 is the first model assembled here, other products will follow the same in near future.
With the local assembly operations, Volvo will easily manage to price its products at an aggressive price sticker that will help the Swedish manufacturer to take on competitors in the luxury segment such as Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW. Altogether, it will help in saving heavy taxes imposed on imported vehicles. The company is aiming to achieve 10% share by the end of 2020.
At the launch event, Charles Frump, Managing Director, Volvo Auto India said, “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.”