Volvo set to enter India's heavy CV mart

Swedish behemoth Volvo has charted out an aggressive strategy to become a leader in the country's heavy commercial vehicle sector, following its alliance with the Delhi-based Eicher Motors.

Volvo signed a letter of intent (LoI) with Eicher Motors last year for a joint venture company to expand its truck presence in the country.

Volvo India managing director Eric Leblanc, said, "We want to be a leader in the heavy commercial vehicle segment. We have a larger and better product offering than our competitors. We can bring in products which are already the best in the world."

Leblanc added, "Some products belonging to our competitors do not match even half of Volvo's performance on the roads. Volvo has already clocked more than 1 million kms in its lifetime."

"Our products can be compared with any of the Indian ones and we will come out tops with regard to the total cost of ownership, serviceability, maintenance, comfort and satisfaction levels," he asserted.

The company plans to bridge the huge gap between its products and those of Eicher through the introduction of Nissan diesel vehicles. The company is currently conducting a market study for such vehicles.

Nissan platforms may be used for the product development of Eichers Motors at a later stage of the alliance.

Volvo has realigned its operations in India with two separate entities, which are Volvo Bus Body Technologies and Volvo India. The bus and truck segments of company will now be two separate entities.

According to plan, the Volvo's technological superiority will help Eicher Motors to build its own range of advanced medium and heavy trucks, which will be launched in the Indian and overseas market. Volvo will help to distribute and market Eicher trucks in the international markets.

Although Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland together account for more than 80 per cent of the market share in the goods carrier segment, Volvo is optimistic of gaining significant market share by 2010 through the introduction of its range of commercial vehicles and those of Eicher's.

Like many international automotive components, Volvo is also looking to tap into Eicher's component supplier base for sourcing inexpensive components to feed its mother plants overseas.