Volvo is on its way to launch the first plug-in hybrid vehicle assembled locally in India later this year.
Having been on the fringes of the Indian luxury car market, Swedish luxury carmaker Volvo Car India wants to lead the way in the electrified vehicle portfolio in the country ahead of its German rivals.
Volvo, which has already finalised plans to locally assemble plug-in hybrid vehicles, is now considering local assembly of electric vehicles in the country.
The company is on its way to launch the first plug-in hybrid vehicle assembled locally in India later this year and plans to have a portfolio of half- a-dozen plug-in hybrids and battery-operated electric vehicles in India by 2021.
In an interaction with Economic Times, Charles Frump, MD of Volvo Car India said that the government’s decision last month to reduce customs duty on import of components for electric vehicles from a range of 15-30 per cent to 10-15 per cent has made a business case for Volvo to assemble electric vehicles in India.
Volvo set up a facility near Bengaluru to assemble its vehicles locally in 2018 to compete more aggressively in the highly competitive 40,000-unit luxury car market. Local assembly has already helped Volvo, whose three locally assembled models account for half the sales.
