Volvo India to launch electric car in 2019

Volvo has always set itself apart with its vision. After ushering car makers to the world of safety, Volvo has now donned the role of the doyen of the environment. As a part of its aggressive India plans, the Swedish car maker will have hybrid options on all its cars by next year and launch its first EV in India in 2019.

Despite the GST regime’s lack of sympathy for hybrid cars, Volvo is continuing with its roadmap. Volvo’s new facility near Bengaluru is in works and is expected to begin operations in 2018 when the XC90 and the S90 are expected to take the CKD route to India. Volvo has been aggressive with their newer cars, launching them at prices at par with the competition in spite of being highly taxed CBUs.

As per Tom von Bonsdorff, MD, Volvo India, Volvo cars will be priced closer to their competitors which means, you might not get the price cuts that you would expect after the switch to local production. But on the other hand, you will be offered cleaner and more advanced hybrid technology across the range, which would otherwise come at a premium.

Volvo has also said that the government’s plan to attain non-fossil fuel mobility by 2032 is largely ambitious, but these type of ambitions are the ones that fuel change and India needs this kind of change especially with the pollution indices going north every year. Volvo will launch an all-electric vehicle as well in 2019 which might be based on the new XC60/S60 architecture if not the new XC40/V40 platform.