With sales in Europe decreasing, luxury car makers are turning their attention to emerging markets. BMW for instance has announced its plans to set up a manufacturing facility in Brazil, while Tata Motors has already broken ground on its upcoming Jaguar Land Rover production plant in China. Now Volvo is betting big on the Indian market, wanting to take the numero uno position by 2020, a task which seems far fetched considering the lack of aggression of the Chinese owned company in India.
Volvo has confirmed its plans to launch the V40 Cross Country in India in March 2013. The V40 Cross Country will rival BMW’s X1 and Audi’s Q3. Powering the Volvo V40 Cross Country in India would be the 2.0-litre D3 diesel engine which belts out a good 150 BHP and 350 Nm. Volvo could offer more powerful D4 and D5 diesel engines but its going to be the D3 which will get them the volumes they are looking for. The top variants will be offered with all-wheel drive and will be loaded with features.
The Volvo V40 Cross Country will be brought in via the CBU route and is expected to retail at a starting price of Rs. 25 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi). Volvo doesn’t have an assembly plant in India yet and is considering setting up one to reduce prices of its products. The Sweedish automaker might even consider local manufacturing if volumes justify the high investments required for a production facility. Volvo will expand its dealership network to 43 outlets by 2020, from the current 12 outlets. The company aims to sell 20,000 units a year by the end of this decade.
