Volvo Cars to be the first company to locally assemble plug-in hybrids in India

Swedish luxury carmaker Volvo Cars Thursday said the company will commence local assembly of plug-in hybrid XC90 T8 end next year. The company - the first to locally assemble plug-in hybrids (PHEV) in the country - will additionally launch four more PHEV vehicles over the next three years as it moves towards phasing out combustion-engine only models in a bid to curb pollution.

Charles Frump, managing director, Volvo Cars India, said, “The localisation of plug-in hybrids marks the future of electrification for us. Our customers are increasingly becoming aware about the rise in pollution levels and degrading environment...till the time we have a supporting infrastructure, plug-in hybrids offer the intermediate solution.”

Volvo, which just last year set up a factory in India, has set itself a vision of selling one million electrified vehicles by 2025. India will be a key contributor to that.


Volvo, which has been fast to bring in global models into India, is also studying how the Indian arm can bring in the company's first electric car which is slated for global launch in 2019.