Volvo Auto launches luxury hatchback V40 in India at Rs 24.75 lakh

Also introduces the second variant V40 R-Design

Swedish luxury car maker Volvo Auto on Wednesday launched the much-awaited V40 hatchback in India at a starting price of Rs 24.75 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi). The company also introduced the second variant V40 R-Design at Rs 27.7 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi).

Powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel engine, the base model V40 Kinetic and V40 R-Design are available in eight colours, and are loaded with features including the pedestrian airbag technology, which Volvo claims to be the world’s first.

One of the challenges for Volvo here in India is to establish its brand. The company is looking at a sustained progress in India and is not much concentrated on numbers, Tom von Bonsdorff, who took over as managing director of Volvo Auto India a couple of weeks ago, told mediapersons here.

“We want to see how V40 will take off. We expect this to be a high-seller for us,” Bonsdorff said, adding that XC90, slated for launch later this calendar year, would give Volvo a boost in the luxury sports utility vehicle (SUV) segment in India.

Volvo has already seen over 36,000 orders for XC90 SUV globally, and has started collecting bookings in India as well. The Volvo XC90 will be priced between Rs.64.90 lakh and Rs 77.90 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi), said Sudeep Narayan, director (PR and digital), Volvo Auto India.

Volvo Auto India reported annual sales of 1,202 units in 2014, up from 913 units sold in 2013, including 300 in Telangana and 100 in Andhra Pradesh.

“The Indian luxury car segment is expected to grow anywhere between 10 per cent and 12 per cent this year. We are aiming at outperforming the industry growth rate,” Narayan said.