The Hindu Business Line : No move to cut prices: Volvo MD

"We won't be dropping prices for the volumes to grow," Mr Leblanc told Business Line. Mr Leblanc, earlier in charge of Volvo's Morocco operations, took over from the incumbent Mr Ulf Nordqvist on Thursday. Mr Nordqvist will be returning to Sweden to take up a new assignment with the parent company. Mr Nordqvist, who replaced Mr Ravi Uppal, was instrumental in more than doubling Volvo's sales in India to over Rs 600 crore in over two years.

Mr Leblanc said he expects the company to sustain its rate of growth. Compared with 2003, Volvo's sales grew 69 per cent to about Rs 600 crore in 2004. In 2004, Volvo more than doubled the sales of its trucks to around 350 trucks while it sold 100 more buses to 300 during the same period. It sold around 350 construction equipment during 2004. The company has already started posting operating profits for the last one year now.

Mr Leblanc said though Volvo had a made a beginning with exports of trucks to South Korea from the Indian plant, the domestic market will continue to Volvo India's priority.

Admitting that Volvo had to use a different strategy to sell trucks in India because of its high prices, the outgoing Managing Director, Mr Nordqvist said Volvo had capitalised on the first mover advantage, which was crucial in a developing market like India. "Before other international players even started to look at India, we had already started selling trucks here," he said.

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