 "Volvo makes in India buses for Europe, first bus maker to export to continent")
This month, Volvo Buses will begin exporting fully-built made-in-India buses to customers in Europe, a first for a bus manufacturer to source from an Asian country.
Volvo Buses has a unit in China, but is leveraging existing manufacturing capacity, the component supplier base and the low-cost workforce to build buses in India and export them at “competitive” costs to customers in Europe.
The India-made buses will allow Volvo to get entry into the inter-city bus segment in Europe and compete with the likes of Diamler and IVECO at lower costs than buses produced locally, company officials said, but declined to quantify.
Volvo estimates that the annual volume for such buses to be 5,000 in Europe. “The buses will be fully built in India. There may be minor changes that the customer needs — like where the ticketing machine is placed...,” president Hakan Agnevall said.
In 2011, Volvo invested Rs 400 crore to expand capacity to 1,500 vehicles a year from 800 buses at its India plant, located outskirts of Bengaluru.
It currently makes 700 buses a year for the local market and countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
Volvo involved customers, largely tour operators in Europe during the development of the bus, built in India by Volvo engineers, which is complaint with Euro VI regulations, he said.
Volvo Buses senior vice-president for international operations Akash Passey said the firm gets neutral benefits as it is providing value addition to the products in India. The firm imports the transmission gear and engines for the buses to be exported to Europe, which complies with Euro VI regulations.
India follows the Euro 4 equivalent emission norms in Metros and Euro III norms in smaller cities.
“We will be ready with our products for India, when the country moves to Euro VI norms,” Passey said. Agnevall also said that Volvo is in talks with the Indian government to make electric and hybrid buses in India under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles in the country.
Volvo Buses has a unit in China, but is leveraging existing manufacturing capacity, the component supplier base and the low-cost workforce to build buses in India and export them at “competitive” costs to customers in Europe.
The India-made buses will allow Volvo to get entry into the inter-city bus segment in Europe and compete with the likes of Diamler and IVECO at lower costs than buses produced locally, company officials said, but declined to quantify.
Volvo estimates that the annual volume for such buses to be 5,000 in Europe. “The buses will be fully built in India. There may be minor changes that the customer needs — like where the ticketing machine is placed...,” president Hakan Agnevall said.
In 2011, Volvo invested Rs 400 crore to expand capacity to 1,500 vehicles a year from 800 buses at its India plant, located outskirts of Bengaluru.
It currently makes 700 buses a year for the local market and countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
Volvo involved customers, largely tour operators in Europe during the development of the bus, built in India by Volvo engineers, which is complaint with Euro VI regulations, he said.
Volvo Buses senior vice-president for international operations Akash Passey said the firm gets neutral benefits as it is providing value addition to the products in India. The firm imports the transmission gear and engines for the buses to be exported to Europe, which complies with Euro VI regulations.
India follows the Euro 4 equivalent emission norms in Metros and Euro III norms in smaller cities.
“We will be ready with our products for India, when the country moves to Euro VI norms,” Passey said. Agnevall also said that Volvo is in talks with the Indian government to make electric and hybrid buses in India under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles in the country.