Saar: Volvo expects that the first lot of 200 cars will be sold even before the SUV officially goes on sale.
A few days ago, we revealed all that we knew about the India-bound Volvo XC40. The only missing links were the launch date and, of course, the price. Volvo Auto India has today announced that the XC40 will launch in India on July 4, 2018. Additionally, it has officially started accepting bookings for its smallest, yet trendiest SUV at a minimum token amount of Rs 5 lakh. If you don’t like the car, which is unlikely to happen, the total amount will be refunded back.
If you really like the Volvo XC40, now is the time to put your name down. Volvo Auto India expects that the first lot of 200 cars will be taken up even before the XC40’s launch date arrives. That is no surprise because the Volvo XC40 has been nothing less than a sensation in global markets. So much so that the company will be upgrading its manufacturing plants for additional production lines to meet the rising demand of its baby SUV. On May 24, 2018, Volvo Cars announced that it has received almost 80,000 orders for the XC40 globally. Crikey!
Volvo XC60 And S90 Will Soon Get XC90’s T8 Plug-in Hybrid Powertrain In India
Anyway, back to what the Volvo XC40 will bring to India. Since it is underpinned by the company’s CMA (Compact Modular Architecture) platform, it will be brought in as a completely built unit. Volvo Auto India’s factory, which is in close proximity to Bengaluru, is currently only prepped to produce cars which are built on the SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) platform.
To start with, the Volvo XC40 will be offered in just one trim, R-Design, and with one engine-transmission combination. That engine (D4) is the same that also powers the Volvo S90 sedan in India. It is a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel unit that puts out 190PS of power and 400Nm of torque. It will come mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission and an all-wheel-drive system.
The R-Design trim is essentially a sporty counterpart to Volvo’s Inscription trim. You know what that means! Yes. The XC40 will comes loaded with features. The list includes a 9.0-inch Sensus touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, a 13-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, wireless mobile phone charging, digital instrument cluster and a massive panoramic sunroof. Being a Volvo, it comes with a host of safety features such as rear collision warning system, run-off-road mitigation, park assist pilot and adaptive cruise control.
In India, the Volvo XC40 will compete with a number of products from its home continent. The list includes Mercedes-Benz GLA, Audi Q3, BMW X1, Mini Countryman and the Range Rover Evoque. If Volvo manages to price the XC40 under the Rs 40 lakh mark, it will surely hit a sweet spot in the Indian premium car market.
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