Volvo cars are known for their safety and style (design) in the luxury segment and the Swedish company has sold 1,000 cars so far during 2013 in India, according to Tomas Ernberg, Managing Director of Volvo Auto India Ltd.
He was here in the city on Wednesday to inaugurate a dealership and open a showroom at Dondaparti. The dealer is Sai Rama Krishna Cars Pvt Ltd owned by Manoj Krishna and Saket Talwar.
He said the company had earlier opened a showroom in Hyderabad and “it is a success story there and we want to replicate it here. Visakhapatnam is the second most important city in the State and after strengthening ourselves here, we will explore the possibility of going to other tier-two cities in AP.’’
He said that the company had recently introduced new versions of S 60 and XC 60, the best-selling models in the country. These models would also be available at the showroom here.
He explained the features of new versions such as laser-assisted automatic braking, instrument cluster with three digital modes and daytime running lights.
Luxury segment
He said the company was quite bullish on the Indian market, as the luxury segment in the country was still undeveloped.
“There is great potential for growth and by 2020 the segment will make rapid strides. We want to have a sizeable share of it — at least 15 per cent. Our competitors in the segment are Mercedes and Audi.’’
He said the next dealer would be appointed and a showroom will be opened in Kolkata.
In response to a question, he said the cars were being currently imported and “there is no proposal now to set up a manufacturing facility in India.’’ The cars are priced in the range of Rs 31 lakh to Rs 56 lakh.