Volvo Car India expects 25-30 percent of its sales in 2023 to come from EVs

Swedish luxury car maker Volvo Car India expects almost a third of its sales to come from battery electric vehicles (EVs). Already, in the first five months of this calendar year, 25 percent of the company’s sales are EVs. With the launch of the new C40 electric coupe, Volvo Car India may breach the four-digit mark at the end of the calendar year if the chip supplies improve.  

Unveiling the C40 Recharge in the national capital on Wednesday, Jyoti Malhotra, MD of Volvo Car India told Autocar Professional, “With just one car line — the XC40 electric — 25 percent of our sales have come from EVs. This is as per Vahan data. For the last two months, the XC40 EV was the highest-selling model. It is a given, EVs will become a bigger and bigger part of our portfolio. Globally, we are committed to go all electric by 2030, 50 percent by 2025. I believe it will be much faster in India.”

Malhotra says that the EV penetration is at 27 percent at present and with the addition of C40, the share of EVs should definitely go up.

On the evolution of the electric vehicle segment, the head of Volvo Car India says, the young customers in India are much more sensitive to the environment (climate change) and they are going to be a key driving force in the acceleration of EVs.

“They are very tech savvy and evolved and care about the environment. So, that is what I see driving the growth. These guys are actually influencers rather than buyers. Once they get into the bracket where they are the buyers, and not influencers anymore, you will see a take-off. My point is that in the near future, an EV will shape the luxury market,” added Malhotra.

The company's plans of launching one electric vehicle every year till 2025 are intact and with every additional launch, the ecosystem is also evolving with fast-expanding EV sales. Malhotra says the direct-to-consumer sales that started with XC40 is becoming increasingly popular with its buyers and it is set to accelerate further with C40.

“It is very important that we are transparent and offer the best conveniences, especially in the luxury car segment. We are going on a direct sales route. Globally, we have a target to move to 100 percent direct-to-consumers by 2030. India will transition in that direction eventually,” he added.

On the current demand environment, Malhotra says the offtake in the market is very strong and the Indian luxury car market is set to hit a new peak in 2023. Volvo Cars too is set to better the 2,600 annual sales number it delivered in 2018.

Malhotra says the world is surprised by what is happening in India. Initially, there was a lot of scepticism, but it is clear now things are shaping up very well.

“I can see the confidence in the market, the confidence in the consumers. I would say from a demand perspective, the demand is still robust. We do have supply constraints, it has not gone away completely, but things are much better than what they were earlier. We expect this to continue for the rest of the year,” Malhotra said.

On the potential of the recently unveiled EX 30 for the Indian market, Malhotra says it is quite promising for the Indian market, but it is still far away in the horizon to define the timelines for the local market.