By IANS
Chandigarh : Volvo has joined the race for a share of the rapidly growing premium car market in India by launching a luxury sedan and SUV here Wednesday.
The Swedish carmaker will import completely built units (CBUs) into India and sell them through its three dealers in Chandigarh, Mumbai and Delhi.
Volvo, which sells in over 100 countries, chose to launch their brand in Chandigarh to tap the big high-end car market in the Union territory and Punjab. German automobile giants Mercedes and BMW have already established their presence here.
Mercedes has declared Punjab’s industrial city of Ludhiana as the Mercedes capital of the country with over 550 Mercedes cars being sold in the last 3-4 years.
The two models Volvo has launched are the luxury sedan S-80 and the purpose built sports utility vehicle (SUV) XC-90.
“Our cars have sold well in the Russian and Chinese markets. We are hoping to do well in India, too,” Volvo car overseas corporation president Peter Cornellis said at the launch.
The S-80 model will cost between Rs.3.8 to Rs.4.4 million. The XC-90 comes with a price tag of Rs4.5 to Rs.5.2 million. The cars will be available both in petrol and diesel variants with sophisticated interiors and safety features.
“Volvo will be importing CBUs for now. We have no intention of setting up a manufacturing facility in India in the near future,” Volvo Car India managing director Paul de Voijs said.
Voijs said that Volvo had already carried out various tests on the two cars for over one year, driving them for over 200,000 km in India to make them suitable for Indian climatic and road conditions.
“We will be marketing the cars on three counts – safety, luxury and environmental concerns,” Voijs said.
The first two CBUs have arrived at Chennai port and are likely to be delivered to the Chandigarh dealer in the next few days.