A senior company executive claimed on Tuesday that Volvo Cars, a Swedish luxury automaker, might electrify completely in India by about 2025, well ahead of its global goal of being a 100% electric automaker by 2030.
The firm will continue to introduce one electric car annually in the nation going forward. The company will introduce the electric version of its SUV C40 in the fourth quarter of 2023.
As a niche player, Volvo Cars can afford to transition to producing entirely battery electric vehicles (BEVs) considerably sooner than its rivals, according to Nick Connor, Head of Commercial Operations for the rest of Asia Pacific at Volvo Cars.
“I believe we’ll pick up speed. We can attempt it next year, or in 2025. In India, we may say that by the time we predicted to be 50% electric (globally), we will already be 100% electric. In Australia, for instance, we’ve already stated that by 2026, we’ll be entirely electric,” he told reporters during a press conference.
Connor was responding to a question on the company’s plans for its electrification journey in India. Prior to his current position, Connor served as Managing Director of Volvo Cars Australia operations.
We’ve observed a far faster acceleration towards battery electric automobiles than we ever anticipated (in Australia). We weren’t prepared for it. Since we aren’t mass producers and have the luxury of being able to set ourselves apart from the competition, I believe it might very well occur here (in India) “Insisted he.
He added that the company will need to continue selling petrol cars and mild hybrids for a while because the pure BEV luxury segment is currently relatively limited and insufficient for it to support the company’s continued existence in the market.
“We will hasten the switch to BEV as the market matures. We shall reach the breaking point rather quickly “Connor furthered.
The current Volvo Cars India lineup includes the completely electric XC40 Recharge, SUVs XC90, XC60, and XC40, as well as the sedan S90.
He stated, “India is a very important focal market for our region,” when asked about the importance of the Indian market. We believe it to be the market in the area with the highest, longest-term growth potential. He continued, “Sales last year were only bound by supply and demand was many times more than supply in India and around the rest of the world.” Volvo Cars experienced significant demand in India for its XC40 BEV, which was introduced towards the end of last year.
“In the fourth quarter of this year, we will introduce the C40 BEV, a fully electric vehicle. In the markets where we’ve already released the automobile, we’ve already noticed a very significant demand for it. According to Connor, “We anticipate comparable levels of demand for C40 BEV as we would have for XC40 BEV in India.
Both the XC40 BEV and the C40 BEV would be imported as entirely disassembled parts before being put together at the company’s facilities in Bengaluru.
“I believe it’s crucial for us to create as many cars as possible here in our region to satisfy local demand, “Added he.
He stated, “We haven’t set hard and fast targets for India or indeed any other country because of production concerns, in terms of the sales of EVs to the company’s total sales. But if the global percentage is 18% in Q4 2022, or 11% last year, I believe we should aim for a comparable level or perhaps a little bit more for India.” The company sold over 1,800 devices in India last year and anticipates its strongest sales year, surpassing the 2,600 units sold in 2018 as the previous high.
