Volvo seeks supply partnerships with Indian ride-hail platforms
Volvo is hoping to partner with ride-hailing companies in order to boost its sales volume in India. Around 1,400 cars were sold in the last 12 months in India, according to Volvo. The carmaker has grown 20% year on year, however, its Indian market share lags well behind figures globally.

Volvo

Sweden-based luxury carmaker Volvo, which is in the process of designing an autonomous car for Uber, is now open to exploring partnerships with taxi-hailing companies in India in order to push its sales volume, similar to what its competitors have been doing recently.

Rival BMW recently tied up with Ola to push at least 1,000 of its 3 Series cars for shared mobility in three cities of Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. Interestingly, cars like Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Mercedes E and S class and BMW 3 and 5 series are already in use for shared mobility in selected cities in India.

Talking to DNA Money on the sidelines of the launch of its luxury sedan S90 at a city hotel, Tom von Bonsdorff, MD, Volvo Auto (India), said, “I don’t think it’s impossible for getting into such tie-ups in India. If there is a great opportunity, then we will definitely catch up on it.”

According to Volvo, around 1,400 cars were sold during the last 12 months in India. The company claims to be growing at 20% year-on-year, occupying a market share of over 5%.

According to industry experts, the luxury car market is just above 1% of the total car sales in India, while it is around 5% in China and averages about 10% in the global market.

Commenting on the new GST rates which may put the luxury cars in the highest bracket of 28% plus cess, Bonsdorff said, “I don’t see any dramatic change in the taxes with the levying of GST. It will be more or less the same with what is now at present.”

Volvo, which has been since 2007 in India, has just seven cars in its portfolio at present.