Volvo Auto India is anticipating an aggressive surge in its domestic sales by more than two-fold to around 800 units by the end of this year, despite of the economic slowdown. The completely owned subsidiary of Swedish Volvo Car Corporation is also eyeing at few possible locations to establish an assembly plant in the country.
The Director in Sales of Volvo Auto India, Praveen Kumar, said that the company that delivered around 325 vehicles in 2011 is expecting to take the figures close to 800 before the end of 2012. He further added, “We don’t see any major slowdown in the segment we are present in. Of course, market sentiments are not good, but we expect to reach our target.”
Between January-August this year, Volvo Auto India delivered 440 units and is now looking ahead to cash on the upcoming festive season, which is expected to boost its sales. Presently, the auto maker is bringing Completely Built Units (CBUs) in the Indian auto market, which are produced in Sweden and Belgium. Owing to this, the company is unable to offer its vehicles competitively as CBUs attract a heavy import duty as well as taxes. On this, Kumar said, “A team is working on the plans and they are evaluating various states for possible location. It has to be finalised by them.”
Being a part of market expansion strategy, the Swedish auto maker is also planning to expand its dealerships network from seven to ten by opening the doors of three new dealerships, one each in Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Delhi.
In the present scenario, Volvo offers four models among ten variants in the Indian auto industry within a price range of Rs. 25 lacs to Rs. 43 lacs. Kumar said that the company will also introduce V40 Cross Country model in 2013, which will be marketed as a small luxury car. Her added, “You should consider that not many new models are planned by the industry for the next year, but we are confident and committed to launch the new vehicle.”
Industry experts believe that the auto maker is quite optimistic for the Indian auto market as it recently declared an aim to emerge as one of the leading auto makers in the Indian luxury car market. The luxury car market of the Indian auto industry is presently dominated by the German trios, BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz.
