Volvo evaluating markets, confirms to drive in XC40 recharge in India
by TIMESOFINDIA.COMNEW DELHI: Volvo Cars India anticipates luxury carmakers to lead the pack once the electric mobility gains momentum here.
The Indian arm of the Swede manufacturer plans to drive in XC40 recharge here. Charles Frump, managing director, Volvo Car India, in TOI dialogues on Friday said, "We launched the XC40 recharge in the global market. We are seeing how it goes in Europe. We will evaluate the response globally and intend to drive it in here at some later stage."
Frump, however, didn't speak on a tentative launch date. Volvo's first fully-electric SUV is positioned in a segment between the likes Hyundai Kona and Jaguar I-Pace. Volvo Cars plans to bring out five electric cars by 2025.
The global-spec Volvo XC40 Recharge is capable of covering 400 kilometres on a single charge. An 11kW wallbox charger takes around eight hours. A 150kW fast charger, on the other hand, takes 40 minutes to 80% charge.
Volvo India's biggest bet in 2020 will be the S60 sedan. "We have not made any big decisions on assembly or launches in India which will be impacted by Covid-19. However, we have to change our strategy slightly. S60 is a global hit and we will roll out the sedan later this year," Frump added.
Volvo India is currently 50 per cent operational post-lockdown relaxation.
Frump was confident about India's comeback post-lockdown. Commenting on economic slowdown due to Covid-19, Frump said, "I'm highly optimistic. India is a resilient country and will come back strongly ... stronger than Europe and US. Especially, how the country bounced back from demonetisation and handled GST implementation, I'm hopeful India will return to normalcy soon."