Volvo steps up presence in India

Volvo is keen to grow its presence in India. According to Paul de Voijs, managing director, Volvo Car India, the Indian market is opening up for luxury cars and vehicles in a big way. “The market is fantastic for luxury brands and as one can see in the past few years, several big players have entered the fray in India,” he added.

He said Volvo Car India is in the process of introducing six new models in the Indian market in phases. It plans to launch the V50 and V70 stationwagons, C30 three-door coupe), C70 two-door coupe convertible, and the XC60 and XC70 crossovers. Of these, the XC60 and C70 are likely to be launched soon, he said. Volvo expects to sell 500 cars in the current year.

The company is also likely to open dealerships in eight cities. At present, the company has three dealerships in Chandigarh, Delhi and Mumbai and is looking at opening new ones in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata and Jaipur, he said. A new dealership involves an investment of about $200,000 (Rs 80 lakh) to fully equip the showroom and service centre, apart from the necessary investment in land and infrastructure.

By 2009, Volvo plans to have 14 dealerships, covering a large part of the country, de Voijs said. “For the moment we bring the Volvo cars as CBUs (Completely Built-Up units) and after at least one year of experience, we will make up our minds on whether we need to do assembly here or not,” he added.

On the issue of homologation taking a long time, the Volvo Car India MD said, “I will welcome simplification of the process. If a car has been tested in Europe, I see no need for the same to be done here.” He said several homologation procedures had been standardised, which is good for the industry.

Volvo Adventure

Meanwhile, Volvo announced the finalists of the Volvo Adventure Competition 2008 for young people (13 to 16-year-olds) in India. Bharat Mata School, Bilaspur (Chattisgarh) has won the first prize this year, for its project ‘No stagnation no mosquitoes’ and will now compete in the Global Finals at Goteborg, Sweden this month. It is followed by the runners-up team’s project ‘Traffic control’ from Chennai.

Total entries received globally were 352, of which India contributed 41 projects. All the projects have been rated on a 40-point scale by an international jury including Prof. Madhav Gadgil, renowned environmentalist, from India. The projects have been rated on four criterions: Understanding of the problem, actions taken, results obtained and involvement of young people. The Volvo Adventure Project is carried out in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme.

The members of the two Sweden-bound teams – ‘Nature Bodies’ from Bharat Mata School, Bilaspur (the national winner) and ‘Jash’ from SBOA Junior School (runner-up) presented their projects during a media interaction in Chennai recently. Eric Leblanc, managing director, Volvo India, said, “With the Volvo Adventure Project, Volvo is glad to participate with young people who have been absolutely inspiring with their commitment and efforts for a better environment. At Volvo, environment is a core value, but we know that collaboration among various stakeholders is the only way to go forward.” Meanwhile, Paul de Voijs said: “It is encouraging to see the enthusiasm and innovative work undertaken by school children showcasing their concern towards the environment.”