Swedish luxury automotive company Volvo is planning big for India in 2013. This will see the introduction of the V40 Cross Country by March and a couple of other models, which it is currently developing.

“The company is working on several other models and a couple of them could head India’s way during the year. However, we have not identified any particular model for launch here as of now,” Sudeep Narayan, Director, Marketing, Volvo Auto India, said.

“We have had a successful 2012, and closed the year with 821 cars, up from 320 a year ago. We expect to log sales of over 1,100 cars this year,” he told Business Line .

Sweden has laid special focus on growing its business in India and the Volvo Group too plans to grow big here across businesses. The luxury car market, currently at less than 2 per cent of the country’s automotive market, is projected to grow to 5-6 per cent by 2020, offering opportunities to expand its presence.

“Internally, we are looking at sales of over 20,000 cars by 2020. By then the premium car market would grow to about 1,50,000 cars,” he said.

V40 Cross Country will be a feature-rich car and would compete with the BMW X1 and the Mercedes B Class offerings. It will have an integrated glass roof.

Saket Talwar, Director of Talwar Cars, said Volvo has garnered about 25 per cent share in Hyderabad in the segments it operates in. Politicians have taken a liking to Volvo SUVs for their safety and comfort features.

The country’s luxury car market has grown at a CAGR of 15 per cent in spite of the market conditions. This trend is likely to continue, offering scope for further expansion of the luxury car market. The company is set to expand its dealership to 12 by March.

rishikumar.vundi@thehindu.co.in

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