Friday, April 20, 2012
By Manoj Kumawat
Volvo eyes to expand footprint in India, plans to launch a new car in early 2013
As Mercedes Benz skidded from its second position in the luxury car segment, it has given a dim hope to car honcho from Sweden, Volvo. India’s luxury car segment is dominated by the German triad BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz and they are leaving no stone unturned to maintain their charisma in the exponentially growing Indian car market. Jaguar and Land Rover have acquired the fourth position while the Swedish car maker Volvo stands at number five in the luxury car segment in India. The company is also planning to bring new cars in India and is likely to bring a new car in the beginning on 2013.
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In 2009 Mercedes was replaced by BMW from its numero uno position and now Audi has grabbed the number 2 slot. The road seems tough for the German luxury car maker who had been reigning the domestic market until 2009. India has become a magnetic market for luxury car makers and to survive this stern competition car makers need to come out with new and appealing products. Volvo forayed in the Indian car market in 2008 and has a few cars in its portfolio in India. The company is evaluating options to expand its footprint in India. Looking at the surging demand for diesel cars in India Volvo too is likely to go diesel way. The company recently rendered the new D3 diesel engine trims of Volvo S60, Volvo S80 and Volvo XC60. As an aftermath of the 2012-2013 Union Budget the company hiked it car prices up to Rs 1 lakh.
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Volvo India is planning to intensify its showrooms and dealerships by 2013, and is also readying to launch a couple of products in India. The company inaugurated the new Volvo showroom in Chennai yesterday and is expecting to sell around 500 units from Chennai showroom effective next year.
In 2011, Volvo India clocked a yearly sale of 320 cars in the country and in 2012 the company eyes at delivering around 1000 units. In India the luxury car segment holds just 1% share of the overall units sold out that is close to 2.5 million units.
| See More Volvo XC60 Photos | Get Volvo XC60 Price |
However the segment is expected to grow to three percent which means it is expected to account for around 1.5 lakh cars out of the total 5 million cars likely to be sold by 2020. Volvo India is contemplating to grab the 15% of luxury car segment by 2012. The demand for luxury cars in India is rising and hence the market share of luxury cars in expected to g higher. As of now Volvo India has eight showroom and seven dealerships in the nation. Mr Tomas Ernberg, Managing Director, Volvo Auto India said that the company hopes to climb upwards slowly and looking at the market trend it seems it isn’t that difficult.
