Volvo Cars is looking into the possibility of establishing a new manufacturing facility in Asia, outside of China, as sales of electric vehicles (EV) are expected to increase this year. The development of charging infrastructure and price parity with internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles are expected to boost EV sales.
Volvo Cars’ Global CEO Jim Rowan stated that while a final decision on the location of the new EV manufacturing unit has yet to be made, India and Southeast Asian countries are among the contenders.
The facility being considered will be utilised to meet domestic requirements and ship vehicles to other markets globally. “We need to make sure that we can feed countries other than just India from that location. So we need to look at the logistics of that. And also the cost benefits,” said Rowan.
Volvo Cars, which plans to go all-electric by the end of the decade, is also open to contract manufacturing collaboration with a partner in the region, according to the report. Volvo Cars announced plans last year to build a new manufacturing facility in Slovakia to meet increased demand for its EVs in Europe and the United States. The company believes that by 2025, ICE vehicles and EVs will be priced similarly, making EVs more affordable to a larger number of customers. In India, Volvo Cars currently sells the XC40 Recharge for Rs 56.90 lakh (ex-showroom).
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