Volvo to launch new V40 Cross Country next fiscal

KOCHI: Volvo Auto India (VAI), the Indian unit of Swedish luxury car maker, will launch its new model V40 Cross Country in the country towards the end of the first quarter of the next fiscal year.
This model is considered to be a competitor to BMW's X1, the crossover sports utility vehicle (SUV). "Customer delivery of Cross Country will be in June, by the best case scenario," said Tomas Ernberg, managing director of VAI, which now enjoys 2.8% of the total market of luxury cars in India.
"We are aiming at 15% of the luxury car segment by 2020," said Ernberg, who has been working with Volvo for the last 17 years. The company sold 821 cars in 2012, up from 320 cars in 2011, registering a sales growth of 35%. VAI also targets to sell 1,100 cars this year.
The company currently sells four models in the domestic market - luxury sedan XC90, luxury SUV XC90, compact luxury SUV XC60 and premium sedan S60. While the first two are imported in completely built units (CBUs) from the Swedish plant, the last two are brought from the Belgium plant.
During the calendar year 2012, Kerala contributed 8% of the company's overall sales in India, and Ernberg and his team are trying to double that this year. Volvo on Friday opened its exclusive service centre in Kochi in partnership with MGF Auto.
The company now has nine service stations in the country and expects to add four stations by the end of 2013. VAI also plans to replicate the intensive marketing campaign it had tested in Hyderabad, which helped the company attain the second position in that market.
"We did research on brand perception and brand recall. In order to increase the brand equity, we held events with schools and high-networth Individuals (HNIs)," said Sudeep Narayan, director of marketing and public relations with VAI.