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Kolkata , Sept. 8

VOLVO India Pvt Ltd has targeted a 15 per cent growth in turnover in 2003. In the year ended December 31, 2002, the heavy commercial vehicles maker had recorded a turnover of Rs 280 crore.

In 2002, the company sold 400 trucks and 180 buses. This year, the number of vehicles sold by the company is also expected to go up by 15 per cent as well, according to Mr Ulf Nordqvist, Managing Director of Volvo India Pvt Ltd.

Addressing a news conference held here on Monday to announce the launch of a new series of Volvo trucks in India, Mr Nordqvist said the company's focus was on being a "logistics enabler".

In fact, Volvo India would remain a player in a niche segment and had no plans to seek a presence in the mass-market category. Besides targeting the private sector, Volvo India has initiated talks with several State transport undertakings with a view to selling Volvo buses to the latter.

Mr Nordqvist said Volvo has invested Rs 300 crore at its manufacturing facility in Bangalore. The Bangalore plant has a capacity to manufacture 600 heavy commercial vehicles annually, including trucks, buses and tippers. The production capacity at the plant can easily be ramped up with the addition of manpower and some tooling equipment.

Besides, Volvo has chosen India as an outsourcing base for supply of quality components to Volvo facilities worldwide. Several component manufacturers and IT companies across the country have been roped in as partners towards this end. Volvo India hopes to generate revenue of 20 million euros from export of components this year. In 2002, the company's earnings from components export stood at 10 million euros. In the products segment, Volvo India has exported buses to Bangladesh.

Volvo India on Monday launched a new range of heavy trucks with Euro III engines that are expected to herald "the next step in trucking in India". These include the FM12 6X4 380 hp tractor, the FM9 6X2 300 hp tractor, the FM9 6x4 300 hp tipper and the FM9 8X4 tipper. The trucks have been priced at between Rs 29 lakh and Rs 35 lakh each, according to Mr Nordqvist.

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