Volvo is planning to attack the Indian market on the back of Ford India, according to a local newspaper.
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The Business Standard said the Indian subsidiaries of the two companies are planning a joint strategy under which Volvo will cater to the high-end market, while Ford will feed the mid-size segment, as it did with the Ikon earlier and does now with the Fiesta.
“Future launches in India could be a part of our global synergy with Ford Motor,” Volvo Car India managing director Paul de Voijs told Business Standard. He indicated that the two companies would work on a common platform to launch their cars in the country. “We could bring in vehicles having shared technologies (platform) with Ford Motor to increase our presence in India,” de Voijs added.
Ford India president & managing director Arvind Mathew told the paper: “Common platform models with Volvo cannot be ruled out in India.” Volvo plans to bring in its C30 and C70 cars, which share the platform with Ford’s Focus range of cars, to India sometime next year.
Automobile analysts told Business Standard a joint strategy could be an effective long-term growth plan for the two companies in the highly-competitive Indian market. “It seems to be a prudent strategy. Both the companies would leverage common technologies and resources to maintain their competitiveness,” Arvind Jain, an analyst with Religare Securities, told the paper.
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By GlobalDataThe paper said the platform-sharing strategy stems from the growing A4 luxury car market segment, which grew by 49% last fiscal year — to 40,964 units in 2006-07 from 27,529 units in 2005-06. This segment is being targeted by automakers such as DaimlerChrysler, BMW, Audi and Porsche.
Meanwhile, Volvo will make its debut in India later this year with the S80 sedan and XC90 sports utility vehicle, the Business Standard said.
Both models will be imported completely built attracting customs duty of about 110% so their pricing will place them at the top end of the A5 segment, the paper added.
