The Indian subsidiary of Swedish carmaker Volvo Cars today announced that it sold 2,687 units in the 2019 fiscal (April-March), registering a growth of 25 percent year-on-year, albeit on a lower base.
Volvo India said that growth was driven by the XC40 SUV and the ramp-up in dealerships across the country also enabled it to reach a wider audience. The brand inaugurated five new showrooms across the country in Calicut, Raipur, Kolkata, Indore and South Mumbai.
Volvo India had recorded the highest growth rate among all luxury automakers in calendar year 2018, but on a much lower base. It sold a record 2,638 units, up 30 percent YoY (2017: 2,029).
However, the carmaker is cautious about sustaining the growth in this fiscal due to overall subdued demand for passenger vehicles. High import costs, depreciation of the rupee and a liquidity crunch impacted the demand for luxury cars considerably for the most part of the year.
“We had a strong performance in the last financial year because of greater customer demand for our products and new dealer openings. We continue to be optimistic about the future, but are somewhat cautious about the year ahead owing to external factors and predictions of an impending downtrend,” Charles Frump, managing director, Volvo Car India, said.