Volvo to Launch S60 in India by 2010

Swedish luxury carmaker Volvo is planning to launch a new luxury sedan in India by 2010. The luxury sedan S60 will be launched in India after the company re-launches the car in the European car market, which will happen sometime during the middle of next year.

"We will be launching the S60 in the Indian market after it is rolled out in Europe in the middle of next year. We hope to have it in India before the end of 2010," said Paul de Voijs, Managing Director, Volvo Cars India.

The S60 has been phased out completely in May this year and the new S60 will be a completely new and advanced version of the car. The S60 would be brought to India as a Completely Built Unit (CBU) from its parent facility in Belgium.



"We will look for annual sales of, may be, around 2,000-3,000 units before setting up an assembly plant here. Our major plants in Sweden and Belgium have still got a lot of extra capacity," said Voijs.

The company seems to be very enthusiastic about the fast growing luxury car market of India. Currently Volvo has three models in its portfolio in India that are Volvo C70, Volvo S80 and Volvo XC90.

Volvo Car India launches special edition

Special edition Volvo cars to be showcased during ocean race.

As the Cochin Port is making all efforts to host the biggest yachting race in the world - Volvo Ocean Race - the Volvo Car India, a division of the Ford Motor Company, has announced the launch of special edition cars to add glamour to the largest sporting event.

Announcing the launch, Volvo Car India managing director Paul De Voijs said that the company would be showcasing these special edition cars on the event mainly because the Volvo Ocean Race reflects the values that our customers look for when they choose a car. It was all about an active lifestyle, adventure and passion, he said.

The new Volvo Ocean Race car edition encompasses three models: The Volvo V70, Volvo XC70 and Volvo XC90 in ocean blue and electric colours. The seven yachts participating in the race will arrive Kochi in December and they will remain here for 10 days.

Following the launch in India during September last year, around 100 Volvo cars had been sold so far. The company has set a target to sell 500 units by the end of this year, he said.

The luxury cars range between Rs 38 lakh and Rs 52 lakh.

Volvo plans to launch new models in India

Volvo Car India (VCI), a division of Ford Motor Company, is planning to strengthen its dealer network and launch new models in the Indian market, the company’s Managing Director Paul de Voijs has said.”Currently we market our products in India through three dealers: one each in Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigarh. Now we are planning to expand our business in places like Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune and Cochin. We will disclose our business details within the next two weeks,” Voijs said here Saturday.

“We will monitor our business progress in India for one more year then based on the response we may also open an assembly unit at some appropriate place in India,” he said.

However, all this depends on the response and support that we will get from Indian business facilitators.

“Permits for constructions and other business requirements here are very complex and vary from state to state,” he said.

Eyeing the rich Punjab market, Voijs said: “Punjab is one of the flourishing states of India and we consider it as a potential market for us. We are particularly planning to intensify our business operations in this state. I believe that the rich populace of Punjab prefers quality products and the unmatched Volvo cars will be the first choice for them if we market well in this region.”

VCI has ten luxurious models in its portfolio and they have plans to introduce 2-3 more models by the end of this fiscal year, Voijs said.

He said VCI believes in direct marketing and direct promotional activities right at the doorstep of the potential buyers rather than blind advertising. We intend to sell 400 to 500 Volvo cars in India by the end of this fiscal year.

“The Volvo Ocean Race will also cross India this year for the first time to promote the Volvo brand,” Voijs said.

The Volvo Ocean Race is an yacht race that goes around the world and is held every three years. This year it is being sponsored by Volvo.

The race starts from Spain and runs for 8-9 months covering various countries across the globe. It will cross Kochi at the end of 2008 and will finish in Russia in 2009, Voijs said.

VCI presented its S80 3.2 model car to India’s first Olympics individual gold medallist, Abhinav Bindra Saturday.

“We will also try to promote sports in India. Indian boxers have also done well in the Olympics, we will also try to felicitate them in the near future,” he said.