Volvo plans Rs 400-cr investment in India

Volvo today announced plans to invest about Rs 400 crore in India in the next five years.

"With this kind of investment plan, India will emerge as the second biggest hub after China," Volvo Bus Corporation President and CEO Hakan Karlsson told reporters here.

In the first phase, Volvo plans to expand its industrial establishment capacity in Hoskote to 2,500 units in the next two years. At present, the facility can produce 1,000 vehicles, he said.

The company also plans to introduce a range of new products starting in 2012, he said.

"This announcement backs Volvo buses earlier announcement to become a one billion dollar company selling 5,000 buses in 2015," Karlsson said.

The second phase will see Volvo setting up a new industrial establishment, he said.

"Business planning process has already begun to set up the second factory in India," Volvo Buses India MD and CEO Akash Passey said, but declined to divulge where it would be.

Globally, Volvo has the biggest plan in China to expand its industrial establishment capacity to 3,500, Karlsson said.

The company also plans to expand capacity to 30,000 globally by 2015, which would be thrice the existing capacity, he said.

"We plan to expand our establishments in Asia to 15,000 capacity," Karlsson added.

Volvo expects global revenues to grow by Rs 20,000-Rs 25,000 crore by 2015, Volvo Bus Corporation Senior Vice President (Business Region International) Rune Lundberg said.

"At present our global revenues are in the range of Rs 14,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore," he said.