Volvo has a decent presence in the Indian EV space, with last year’s XC40 Recharge performing reasonably well in the luxury electric car segment. The Swedish automaker has now announced a new electric SUV for emerging markets bearing an entry-level price point, effectively positioned under the XC40 Recharge in terms of pricing.
Speaking to a handful of journalists from Asia Pacific, the global CEO of Volvo Cars, Jim Rowan, said the new offering will be unveiled by summer this year for the global markets, while it may take until late 2024 or early 2025 to reach India.
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“As we bring a smaller SUV, I think that’s going to help us as well and some of these markets because it’s a smaller, less expensive car and it will come with different battery sizes,” Rowan was quoted as saying.
The executive didn’t share hardware details for this electric SUV, but said it would be well-suited for cities and highways. As Autocar India notes, Volvo has charted out an ambitious plan for its future, involving the release of at least one electric car per year.
The Volvo EX90 EV was unveiled recently
Rowan also elaborated on the challenges facing EV adoption in India, specifically with regard to infrastructure. “I think in India, one of the friction factors towards BEV adoption has to be obviously the infrastructure. I think it will evolve quickly starting with Mumbai and Delhi and maybe a lot of parts of the country later and it will evolve city by city. The way in which India is governed as well that becomes a state-by-state decision in terms of budgets and so on,” he said.
When asked about setting up a dedicated manufacturing/production unit in the country, Rowan said the company doesn’t have plans to take that approach just yet. “We need to make sure that we can feed India and countries other than just India from that location, and then we need to look at the logistics of that and also the cost benefits versus being somewhere else in Asia. That is if we decided to do another manufacturing facility outside of China,” the executive said.
Volvo EX90 and C40 Recharge are launching soon
Volvo is also prepping for the launch of the futuristic EX90 electric SUV in 2024. The EV is packed to the brim with features and includes a LIDAR sensor on the roof to complement the onboard driver assistance system. The company is also on course to launch the Volvo C40 Recharge later this year, so it’s looking like a busy next couple of years for the company.
Source: Autocar India
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