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Expects more demand for buses as infrastructure develops

NEW LAUNCH: Mr Eric Leblanc (left), Managing Director, Volvo India, Mr Clauss Fox, V-P, Industry, at the launch of Volvo FM 400 8X4 tipper near Hosakote on Thursday. — G.R.N. Somashekar

Bangalore June 22 Volvo India will double its capacity to 2,500 trucks and buses in its factory here to meet the growing demand in the domestic and export market. The demand for truck grew faster with the company expecting an increase by 10 to 15 per cent this year. Last year, it sold 650 trucks and 300 buses in the domestic market.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday on delivery of 200th FM 400 tipper truck to VPR &Co, a leading civil contract operator in the mining and irrigation sector, Mr Eric Leblanc, Managing Director, Volvo India Pvt Ltd, said this single largest Volvo truck buyer is planning to place order for another 100 trucks.

Demand pick-up

He said Volvo expects the demand for buses to pick up with huge investments on road infrastructure creating large potential.

It recently got an order from Chennai, while its buses are already popular in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It recently sold its buses to Pune.

Volvo has also pegged its truck export target to 1,000 form the current figure of 300 targeting new markets such as Indonesia, Myanmar and Algeria, and even China.

With its recent global acquisition of Ingersoll Rand's road development equipment division, Volvo expects to consolidate its construction equipment business. The India susbidiary of Ingersoll Rand with a 50 per cent market share had a sales of over $40 million (Rs 160 crore) while Volvo had sold construction equiopment worth $100 million, Mr Leblanc said.

Mr Leblanc said component sourcing from India for its global production centres had increased to 90 million this year from 75 million.

Volvo is also in talks with China's Dong Feng to float a joint venture project with a view to reducing the ownership cost to Chinese customers, who now import the CBU from Sweden, Mr Leblanc said.

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