“The new products that we will bring to the market will be electric,” Martin Persson, head of Volvo Cars for the Asia Pacific (except China) region, told ET. “We still have the ICE (internal combustion engine) products and we think they are competitive for customers who want that. It is not about taking that away. But, at the same time, the future is pretty clear.”
Globally, Volvo Cars plans to go all electric by the end of the decade.
In India, where it currently registers about 25% of its sales from EVs, the market for electric cars is still small but is growing exponentially, the company said. As more vehicles come in, new customers will come forward, accelerating adoption, it said.
Volvo Cars is looking to introduce one new electric vehicle every year for the next few years to tap into the potential of this fast-evolving space.
First up for launch is the EC30 in 2025, followed by the top-end EC90. A timeline for the launch of the flagship electric model will be announced shortly, executives said.
Persson said the Indian market is evolving at a pace similar to Japan and Korea, where sales of electric vehicles are limited at about 2%, currently. “But the penetration (of EVs) in the luxury segment is higher than that in the mass market,” he said.
To be sure, the share of electrics in the luxury car market in India at about 7% is thrice that of the mass market.
Jyoti Malhotra, managing director of Volvo Car India, said the company has 22-23% share in sale of luxury EVs in the country with two models. “This will expand further with the launch of the EC30,” he added.
Persson said the potential for growth in India’s luxury vehicle segment remains healthy. The country is among the fastest growing markets for Volvo in the region and the outlook remains positive, given the increasing number of millionaires here. “We are studying the market here to examine what actions we should take to grow further,” he said, adding this could be “industrial action or some other measures”.
“I think there's no company that doesn't have India on their agenda right now, you know, because first of all, there is such an exciting future for the country,” Persson said. “One of the reasons I’m coming here now is to understand the market, go back and then say how do we best capture the potential.”
Volvo Cars India, among others, is studying the Scheme for Manufacturing of Electric Cars announced by the government in March this year. The company, however, is yet to take a call on participating under the scheme.
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