Swedish carmaker Volvo on Tuesday launched their new premium sports-utility vehicle the XC90. This car the first of a new generation of vehicles planned by Volvo after its acquisition by Chinese car manufacturer Geely is going to the flagship model for the brand.
Featuring a new generation two-litre 225 horsepower engine which blends efficiency and power according to Volvo this car which will compete with the Audi Q7 and BMW X5 is the cornerstone of Volvo growth strategy.
The XC90 is available in two trim levels priced at Rs 64.9 lakh and Rs77.4 lakh respectively (ex-showroom Mumbai). Thomas Ernberg the managing director of Volvo Auto India said that within the next four years the carmaker will have the world's 'freshest' lineup of luxury car models thanks to a new scalable product architecture.
The car features several innovative new systems including the replacement of the traditional central console by a large touch screen display. “Some of our competitors have over 30 buttons on the dashboard. We feel that this is confusing, and this car has only eight physical buttons," Ernberg said.
He also said that Volvo Auto India which sold 1200 cars last year expects to sell 10,000 cars by 2020. In 2015 the carmaker hopes to sell 2000 cars including up to 350-400 units of the XC90.
The company also has plans of rapidly expanding their dealer network of 13 to upwards of 20 by 2016. However, Ernberg did categorically state that Volvo who recently invested $500 million on a new plant in the US have no plans of investing in a assembly or manufacturing facility in India as volumes didn’t justify it.