Volvo bets on high demand for trucks in India amid lull in US

New Delhi: India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and the GDP growth here would continue to generate demand for commercial transport, Roger Alm, president, Volvo Trucks, told ET.

Value Chain
Alm said in the Volvo Group's total market forecast for CY 2026, demand for heavy-duty trucks in North America could be lower. But the Swedish automotive group expects demand for medium and heavy-duty trucks in India to rise, paced by increased economic activity in the country.


Alm also said India, as a location, is already integrated into the global manufacturing system and will continue to play an important role in the value chain at Volvo, which sources critical components such as engines from the hub in Pithampur (Madhya Pradesh).

"Today, we already source components from India for our trucks globally, the Volvo Group is manufacturing engines in Pithampur, Indore," Alm said. "This means India is a manufacturing location integrated into our global manufacturing system and will continue to be important to the regional value chain for Volvo Group."

Production Facility
Earlier this month, VE Commercial Vehicles, a joint venture between Eicher Motors and Volvo Group, announced an investment of ₹544 crore to set up a production facility for 12-speed automated manual transmissions (AMT) near Ujjain.

The investment in the AMT production will cater to the needs of Eicher heavy-duty truck customers in India, the Volvo Group in India and select markets in the Asia-Oceania region. India is already the global manufacturing hub for Volvo Group's 5 & 8 Litre (MDEP) engines.

Alm declined to share the total investment the group has made in the country so far.

Further Commitments
"India will continue to be an important part of our global supply chain, and this will require more investments in the future," he said.

As regards zero emission vehicles, Alm said Volvo Trucks has eight electric truck models production, and has sold more than 5,500 electric trucks to 50 countries worldwide. "Now India is also beginning to adopt electric trucks, so we are seeing massive movement in that area. We have signed a memorandum of understanding to expand production in Bengaluru. We are very positive about India," Alm said.

Alm said, however, the physical infrastructure needed to support electrification, especially charging facilities, is not available to many customers in numerous countries.

"If one cannot charge an electric truck, operating it is like running a diesel truck without available fuel stations-it becomes difficult. So charging infrastructure is vital. We all need to support this-electricity providers, energy companies, and fuel companies-to provide charging infrastructure to customers and ensure the availability of electricity and grid capacity," Alm said.

He said the automotive industry worldwide is in 'the transformation phase', and it (electrification) is the right path (to decarbonisation). Stakeholder collaboration though is important to make it a success.

Volvo Group, he said, "is fully focused on it and has made investments to be at the forefront". At the same time, the company is also exploring other technologies like LNG, which it is developing in India as well as other markets worldwide to reduce emissions and fuel consumption in the interim.