Volvo Cars enters Gujarat market, appoints a dealer

Swedish auto-maker Volvo on Thursday, entered the Gujarat market by opening its dealership in Ahmedabad. The company plans to sell over 150 units in the year 2013, said a senior official of the company. 

"Gujarat is an important market as it is considered to be one of the most affluent states in India. It is also an automobile hub and hence its its imperative to make presence felt," said a press statement of Volvo Auto India. The dealership is given to 'Autobots', co-owned by Dhaval Thakkar. The company has selected four luxury car model; Volvo SC90, a 7-seater SUV; XC60, a compact luxury SUV; S80, a sedan; and S60, a sporty sedan. These are priced (on road) around Rs 55 lakh, Rs 47 lakh, Rs 44 lakh and Rs 34 lakh respectively.

Arvind Thakkar, the owner of Autobots and owner of Shital Motors Private Limited, which sells vehicles of Mahindra and Mahindra feels that the company would be able to sell close to 250 units despite a general slowdown. "We are targeting realtors, diamond merchants and industrialists as potential customers," said Arvind Thakkar. He believes that of late, sales of SUVs are growing faster than sedans.

Volvo Cars MD, Tomas Ernberg believe that the luxury car market of India will grow at 10-15% in 2013, while the company is looking at a growth of 50%. It has set a target of selling 20,000 cars in India by 2020. The company is importing cars in Completely Built Units (CBUs) from its facilities in Sweden and Belgium. As of know, it does not have any plans of assembling or manufacturing in India. 

VOLVO S60