Made in India: Volvo to export buses to Europe

Company announced investment worth Rs4 billion to double output in Hoskote.

BANGALORE: Swedish auto giant Volvo said it planned to build buses destined for Europe’s roads in Bangalore, providing a major boon to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign.

Volvo’s Indian subsidiary has been exporting luxury air-conditioned coaches to South Asian countries, including Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for two years and now has its sights set firmly on Europe.

“We will be the first bus company to export to the European market from India, taking advantage of lower manpower costs and neutral duty,” Volvo Buses Corporation President Hakan Agnevall said.

The announcement will be welcomed by Modi’s business-friendly government, elected last year on pledges to revive a sluggish economy, including attracting some much-needed foreign direct investment.

In September, the government launched its ‘Make in India’ initiative in a bid to tell the world that India was open for business.

Volvo has been operating in India for 15 years. In 2012, it announced it was investing Rs4 billion ($63 million) to double output at its plant in Hoskote, 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of Bangalore to 1,500 buses a year.

“It’s a milestone for us to export buses from India to developed markets in Europe though we are a European company and have a major presence there with a couple of manufacturing plants in the continent,” Agnevall said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 15^th,  2015.

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