Geely's Volvo Cars has joined rival premium brands Audi, BMW and Mercedes with local assembly of vehicles in India.
The first XC90 SUV left the Bengaluru plant following last May's announcement assembly operations would start this year with help from Volvo Group.
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"The rollout of [the] first locally assembled Volvo Car speaks volumes for the company's commitment to grow further in India," newly appointed Volvo Auto India managing director Charles Frump said in a statement cited by Business Day.
"The last three years have been good for us in India and we noticed a positive and encouraging growth in terms of increased segment share, world class product and new dealer appointments."
The company was on track to gain a bigger share of the luxury segment, Frump added.
Volvo Cars said India had shown a great long term potential for a fast expanding luxury segment and the decision to assemble vehicles locally had provided it a strong platform to achieve 10% segment share by the end of the decade, double its present slice.
The Indian luxury car market was 34,000 units in 2016, down over 5% year on year.
More models on the company's SPA modular vehicle architecture are slated for Indian assembly but have yet to be detailed.
Volvo Auto India also sells imported models such as the V40 and S60 sedan.
Learn more about the XC90 and global production life data – past, present and future – by subscribing to just-auto's PLDB.
