Mumbai: The Swedish luxury carmaker Volvo hopes to sell around 400 units of its latest sports utility vehicle XC90 by December and close the year with around 66 percent rise in overall sales.
Volvo Tuesday unveiled an all new version of its sports utility vehicle (SUV) XC90 in India, priced up to Rs 77.9 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi without Octroi).
"We hope to sell anywhere between 350 and 400 units of the XC90 between September (when it will be available) and December, said Volvo Auto India Managing Director Tomas Ernberg.
With this launch, Volvo, which entered the country in 2007 and is the only premium luxury car company that does not have an assembly line here, has five models and enjoys around 4 percent market share in the little over 30,000 units per annum domestic luxury car space.
The Volvo XC90 comes in two variants - the Inscription priced at Rs 77.9 lakh, and the Momentum at Rs 64.9 lakh, both ex-showroom Mumbai & Delhi, Ernberg said, adding Volvo will be discontinuing the existing XC90.
Its German rival Audi is the No 1 in the space here, selling over 11,292 units in 2014.
Another German car maker Mercedes-Benz, which sold 11,213 units in 2014 is at No 2. These two together hold close to 70 percent of the luxe car pie. (More)
For 2015, Volvo has set a target to sell 2,000 units, up from 1,200 it sold last year, a hefty 66 percent rise. This looks ambitious as the industry just grew 4 percent last year and expects around 6-7 percent growth this year.
Volvo also will be launching four models this year, including today's launch, and out of which two will be brand new models and the rest variants.
Merc and BMW are planning 15 new launches this year, while Audi is planning to roll out 10 new models.
On sales network expansion, Volvo currently has 13 dealerships and will go up to 20-22 by December.
On local assembly line, Ernberg said the global headquarters is studying the idea but no decision is taken yet.
Volvo has invested USD 11 billion to develop the XC90 and the engine platforms over the past three years. The XC90 paves the way for a portfolio of exciting new cars to come in the following years, he added.
Volvo India sells five models -- the S80, S60, XC60, V40 Cross Country and the XC90. Out of these, the X60 and XC60 are at the top of the sales chart with around 35 percent share each, while S60 and S80 bring in the rest.
