Even as the revised CKD rules force many auto manufacturers to consider opening manufacturing facilities in India, Swedish vehicle manufacturer, Volvo stated that it does not have any immediate plans for opening a manufacturer plant in India as it would not be viable financially.
The managing director of Volvo, India, Paul de Voijs said that it is not feasible for them to open a manufacturing facility in India for their luxury products. He said that Geely Holding which had acquired Volvo from the Ford Motor Co. did not have any plans to change how the company works, and would not touch its DNA. The Chinese Co. wanted Volvo to be run by Volvo people only.
He also said that Volvo was not facing any interference from Geely Holding on they run their business in India. When Volvo was reportedly asked whether they had any plans on entering the low-cost car segment in India, the MD of the company said that they currently do not have any plans for the Rs.1-5 lakh segment in India as that would not gel with their brand image.
The company is however looking towards other segments like alternative fuel powered cars. When asked about the possible introduction of the Volvo C30 Electric, which they plan to launch in Europe soon, de Voijs said that they would introduce electric cars in India when they felt the demand and when the right infrastructure was available.
He however hoped that the launch of electric cars would be supported by reduced duties. He also added that unlike other competing luxury car manufacturers in India, they were not able to price their cars as competitively. The Indian luxury car market has been growing by 35% annually. The growth of Volvo India was 200%; however this could be because they had a lower base. The company plans on selling around 400 to 600 cars throughout the year. They sold around 130 cars in the first 3 months, which was the same as a year ago.