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Mumbai:
Swedish truck and bus maker Volvo is increasing capacity in India to meet
greater domestic demand and for exports, Eric Leblanc, managing director of Volvo
India Pvt. Ltd said. Volvo
will export 1,000 trucks in 2008 from India to new markets, including Myanmar,
Indonesia, Vietnam and possibly China, Eric Leblanc, said. Volvo
owns 70 per cent in a venture with Bangalore-based Jaico Automobile Engineering
that makes bus bodies for India. Volvo
Car India, a division of Ford India that would be selling Volvo vehicles in the
country by the end of this year, is looking at the possibility of having a preferred
financial solutions partner. The financial partner would offer tailor-made financial
solutions for prospective Volvo buyers in the country. Volvo
is likely to tie up funds with one of the leading banks in the country. Such a
tie-up allows the automaker to avail themselves of a range of financial services
that would include competitive interest rates. It may also include innovative
and quality premium quality of service like BMW has across its nationwide dealership
network and ICICI''s Direct Sales Agency (DSA). The
company is gearing up for its forthcoming car launches of the Volvo S80 (luxury
sedan) and the Volvo XC90 (sports utility vehicle). Volvo
will introduce these two models with three engine offerings; 2.5 litre (diesel),
3.2-litre (petrol) and 4.4-litre (petrol) that will be available on both the models
respectively; they will be available with a semi-automatic gearbox. The
vehicles are currently undergoing homologation process at the Automotive Research
Association of India (ARAI) that is likely to be completed by August-September.
The company was set to launch
the vehicles in 2006-end but due to delay in meeting certain homologation requirements
from Volvo''s end, the company is now scheduled to launch it this year-end.
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