Volvo Trucks has seen a 55 per cent increase in sales during the first five months of this year because of increase in coal and mining activities in the country.

Pierre Jean Verge Salamon, President, Volvo Group Truck Sales India, told BusinessLine that there is a strong traction from the market. He said the company has sold about 900 trucks during 2014.

“We listened to the customers. It is not the product but the solution we offer which has helped us to grow rapidly,” Salamon said. He pointed out that lifting of ban on coal block auction as well as on iron ore mining has created a need for equipment and trucks.

Volvo Group in India, which includes trucks and buses, has invested about ₹800 crore so far, and has a production capacity of 1,500 trucks per year per shift. As a group, its revenues from India are about $500 million.

“If we continue with the same growth rate, we could go into the second shift which will involve more investments and more hirings,” he said at the sidelines of an event to mark the sale of 10,000{+t}{+h} truck. He said the company has been able to offer customised solutions for its customers. The truck maker currently has three platforms in India which includes, FH for cargo, FM for specific applications and FMX for mining.

He clarified that Eicher continues to be a joint venture partner in VE Commercial Vehicles. “There has been no change in the equity pattern and we are pretty satisfied with our growth,” Salamon said.

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