Volvo’s new EV SUV is expected to enter emerging markets like India in 2024-’25.
With the goal of gaining a high market share in the nascent electric vehicle sector in emerging markets, the luxury car manufacturer Volvo car plans to introduce a small electric SUV within the next 12-18 months to attract increased buyers. And to focus more on some of the key markets of India, ASEAN and other Asia Pacific countries, another division was created.
- Volvo’s entry-level EV SUV has multiple battery and range options
- It plans to sell half a million electric vehicles globally by 2025
- Volvo India aims to sell 3,000 cars by 2023
Volvo’s small EV SUV to launch in India in 2024-’25
Jim Rowan, Global CEO of Volvo Cars, said the new EV small SUV, which will be launched in the summer of 2023, will have a starting price in line with markets such as India and other countries. Other ASEAN. Asia Pacific region last week.
“We are starting to see more and more emerging markets embrace and adopt the full BEV,” explains Rowan. “As we bring in a smaller SUV, I think that will also help us and some of these markets because it’s smaller, less “A car is expensive and it will come with different battery sizes. Customers can choose from different price and range options and that It’s going to be a great city car as well as a highway car,” explains Rowan.
The new small EV SUV is part of Volvo’s portfolio build-up, in which it plans to launch a new EV model each year. Volvo is one of the first automakers to commit to going all-electric by 2030.
Volvo Top up XC40 launched in India last year received an extremely strong response from the market. And with the addition of a new one C40 . Cross Electric Scooter By the end of September, Volvo expects more than 40-45% of its total sales to come from electric vehicles by 2023, our sister publication Autocar Professional learns. With the addition of an entry-level small EV SUV and EX90 As a market leader over the next few years, the company is on track to complete its plan to reach 50% of all sales from electric vehicles by 2025.
The company sold about 1,850 cars in India in 2022 and expects to increase sales by nearly 50% to 3,000 cars by 2023. While this number may seem very modest, if it is achieved. If the company achieves its electric vehicle sales target, the company can take the lead in electric vehicle sales. segment is gaining strong traction in the market. Globally, the company plans to sell half a million electric vehicles by 2025, and Volvo expects its carbon footprint to be reduced by 40% compared to 2018.
Volvo aspires to have a higher market share in the electric vehicle space
While the recent spike in battery prices is a concern, Rowan predicts prices will drop in the next 6-9 months. He believes the price of an internal combustion engine vehicle will be on par with battery electric vehicles by 2025, and that will make a significant shift to electric vehicles after 2025.
While some of Volvo’s German rivals have decided to stick with the internal combustion engine for a while longer, Rowan said Volvo is very clear about its long-term vision and a full transition to electric vehicles by 2020. 2030 could affect its overall market share in some markets. But in the electric vehicle space, Volvo will aim for a higher market share.
A move that could pose a major challenge for the brand in emerging markets like India, where there may still be a sizable parking lot for conventional internal combustion engines by 2030. Regarding India, Rowan said: “I think in India, one of the factor barriers towards BEV adoption obviously has to be the infrastructure. I think it will grow rapidly starting with Mumbai and Delhi and possibly many parts of the country after that and it will grow city by city. The way in which India is governed also becomes a state-by-state decision on budgets etc. So it can evolve over time.”
When asked if the company would explore an EV manufacturing facility in India, Rowan said: “India is not a big market for us at the moment. It will be a long time for us to have a [manufacturing] work. We need to make sure we can deliver food to India and countries other than India from that location and then we need to look at the logistics of that as well as the cost benefit. costs compared to somewhere else in Asia. That is if we decide to build another production base outside of China,” he explained.
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