Wednesday, March 27, 2013

“The Indian Luxury Car market will be The Second largest for Volvo in Asia by 2020”

Volvo has been a slow Mover in India so far, Unlike Rivals like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi who have Sprinted ahead and Grabbed The Volumes. Goran Larsson, President – Asia, Volvo Cars weighs in on his Company’s Growth plans in The Country in Discussion with Pawan Chabra

B&E: Volvo has not been as aggressive in the luxury car segment in India as BMW or Mercedes. Where does India stand in the scheme of Volvo’s global operations?

Goran Larsson (GL): India is a very strategic market for Volvo and we have been operating in this country for many years now. We have been learning our way to walk in this market before we start running. The way the Indian luxury car market is growing, we expect it to become the second-largest in Asia after China by 2020. If you see, we have launched two globally acclaimed products XC60 and S60 in a span of six months, which is a clear indication that the company is getting more serious about the Indian market. As far as competition is concerned, they do what they feel is right but we follow our own way. There are companies in India which sell over a million vehicles in a year. We don’t but we have a very loyal customer base that is very much convinced about the quality and safety of Volvo cars. We have intentions of becoming a bigger player in this market as well and we will become a bigger player in India.

B&E: As you mentioned, with the recently launched S60, Volvo has already marked its presence in the segment that attracts huge volumes. What are your expectations from the S60?
GL: The D segment is undoubtedly a large and profitable segment in the Indian market and the scenario is similar in the rest of the markets in Asia as well. With the launch of S60, we have two sedans in this segment. Keeping in mind the price, design, features and quality of the car, I would be very surprised if it is not able to attract a huge demand in the Indian market. Most important, we have the capacity to meet the demand of the Indian market and we can adjust the production pipeline accordingly. Out motive is to maintain profitable growth and we are not looking at market leadership because it is of no importance becoming a leader when you are making no money.

B&E: Volvo has so far been known as the maker of the safest cars in the world but the company has of late been emphasising a lot on the design and other features as well. How has it worked for the company?
GL: We initially started to work on attractive designs back in the 1980s. But you are right that the process has been streamlined only recently. We have already bid adieu to the boxy designs and have realised that making the safest cars and promoting them as vehicles that are high on safety will not alone attract a lot of buyers. Our focus is now to package the vehicles as well as the other features. This may not prove to be rationally important but it is certainly emotionally important to the consumer. However, we will continue to build on the USP of manufacturing the safest cars in the world.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,