In the recent past, Swedish carmaker Volvo announced that the brand is working on its business strategy to help reduce air pollution and reduce the carbon footprint by introducing only electric powertrain by 2030. The brand is also likely to follow the global footsteps and completely ditch diesel engines from the Indian market to pave the way for efficient and environmentally friendly petrol engine and electric powertrains.
The Volvo lineup in the Indian market currently includes XC40, XC60, XC90, V90 estate and the S90 sedan. The portfolio is largely dominated by diesel powertrain vehicles which are expected to shift from diesel to petrol. The brand has also revealed that the upcoming S60 sedan will be a petrol-only model and the diesel powertrain will not be introduced on the sedan.
Furthermore, the petrol powertrains are going to be only four-cylinder engines with the 2.0-litre displacement capacity and are expected to be available in different states of tune, a 190 Hp turbo-petrol, a 250 Hp turbo-petrol and a 310 Hp turbocharged or supercharged petrol motor across all variants. The brand also revealed that hybrids will be offered only range-topping models such as the XC90 Excellence. Internationally, the brand offers plug-in hybrid variants on almost the entire portfolio, but in the Indian market where full electric vehicles are highly incentivised the hybrid model are taxed close to internal combustion engine models which does not offset the high user-end cost.
The brand is also looking to introduce fully electric powertrain models and the first full electric Volvo is expected to be the Volvo XC40 Recharge which is expected to make its debut in the Indian market next year. The government incentives in the Indian market are also expected to lower the end-user costs for the completely electric vehicle. It will also help the brand transition into the new age of powertrain in the Indian market. Furthermore, Volvo is also planning to focus on increasing the local assembly of vehicles at its plant in Bengaluru. The XC40 is also likely to join the local assembly line-up soon.
