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— P.V. Sivakumar

Growing market: Mr Paul de Voijs , Managing Director, Volvo, and Mr Sunil Talwar, Managing Director, Talwar Cars at the launch of the Volvo car showroom in Hyderabad on Monday.

Our Bureau

Hyderabad, Dec. 8 Swedish luxury carmaker Volvo said it is not in the volumes game in India and it is a phase of consolidation.

Efforts are directed at ensuring quality support and spread the reach to 10 cities by 2009.

The Managing Director of Volvo Car India, Mr Paul de Voijs, said “The luxury car market addressed by the Volvo range behaves in a different manner compared to general automotive industry. Our experience shows that this is often not impacted by slowdown.”

“This does not mean that the luxury car makers are not affected by slowdown. Some car makers have had big impact. But in India, for instance, the luxury car market is set to grow from 4,500 cars last year to 7,500 cars this year. We believe that the market will grow at high double digit,” he said.

Announcing the launch of their fourth showroom in India after their entry in March with two showrooms, Mr Voijs said that another showroom will be opened later this month.

The company has sold over 100 completely built cars in India since March. Taxes and duties for a luxury car such as Volvo workout to about 150-160 per cent. In addition, last year, the Government had introduced additional Rs 20,000 duty, he said.

Admitting that the economic downturn does impact the buyer sentiment, he explained that the company has tied up with ICICI Bank to offer loans at attractive 5.2 per cent interest for Volvo cars.

He denied that the troubles faced by the parent Ford Motor would have any impact on the business in India.

So, do they expect to bring in smaller cars to India? Mr Voijs said they have no plans to produce a separate model for India. Introduction of cars from the company stable will depend on what the market demands.

The Managing Director of Talwar Cars, Mr Sunil Talwar, said customers here will get the same quality of service that Volvo customers enjoy globally.

More Stories on : Outlook | Cars

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