The Indian arm of the Swedish carmaker, Volvo is planning to locally assemble all its vehicles that are sold in the Indian market. According to a media report, Volvo’s strategy is in-line with the Govt. of India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative which will help the brand lower the end cost of the vehicle, as CKD (Completely Knocked Down) units when assembled in India will attract around 15-30% import duty as compared to the 60-100% import duty levied on CBU (Completely Built-Up) units.
The strategy will help boost sales for Volvo, as the brand is expecting its sales to drop this year as compared to 2019, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. But the report suggests that the brand is likely to improve its sales figures from next year onwards as it plans the local assembly of all its models sold in India.
Volvo India has five vehicles in its current portfolio – XC40, XC60, XC90, V90 Cross Country and S90 out of which the two SUVs XC60 & XC90 along with the S90 sedan are locally assembled at the brand’s Hoskote plant near Bengaluru, Karnataka. The remaining models are imported into the country as fully built units (CBU) and when the company starts the local assembly it will significantly affect its final price.
In other news, Volvo is offering the XC40 T4 R-Design priced at INR 39.9 lakh ex-showroom at the price of INR 36.90 lakhs ex-showroom along with complementary accessories worth INR 1 lakh under the brand’s new ‘Hassle-Free Offer’. With the new offer, customers are able to save INR 4 lakh on the ex-showroom price.
Reports have also suggested that Volvo is considering to bring the Volvo XC40 Recharge with a 100% fully electric powertrain for the Indian market and could launch the EV as soon as 2021. Volvo is expected to launch the Volvo S60 followed by the XC40 Recharge. The XC40 Recharge is also expected to be locally assembled at the Bengaluru plant where all other Volvo cars are planned to be assembled from next year onwards.
Volvo XC40 Recharge P8 AWD in Glacier Silver