Luxury carmaker Volvo Auto India today launched its small premium utility vehicle XC60,priced at Rs 39.5 lakh (ex-showroom,Delhi). The company plans to deliver 45 units of the new vehicle in January next year. "We have already received lot of pre-bookings for the XC60 and it bears testimony to the faith our customers have for the Volvo brand," Volvo Auto India Managing Director Paul de Voijs told reporters here. The company will import the vehicle as completely built units from Volvo's manufacturing facility at Ghent in Belgium. The XC60 will be competing with BMW's X3 and Audi's Q5,he said. Voijs said the company expects to sell slightly more than the overall 140 units sold from its entire range of offerings in India. Volvo currently sells two premium models in India - SUV XC90 and luxury sedan S80. Besides,the company will also be expanding its dealership network to nine by the end of this year from the current seven. "Another 3-4 dealership will be opened next year," Voijs said. Commenting on the Indian market,he said: "This market has the potential to be the fifth or sixth largest car market in the world in future and we are here for the long term." The Indian passenger vehicle market is estimated to grow 18-20 per cent during this fiscal to touch a total of 24 lakh units.
