Indian Autos blog

News comes in from China that Volvo has handed over the old XC90 platform to the parent company Geely to pursue their dreams of producing a luxury SUV under its own umbrella.

The idea is that Geely will have its own luxury marquee (like Toyota has Lexus) which will make luxury SUVs for the Chinese market. The existing XC90 platform will form the base of the new SUV from Geely’s luxury SUV division.

Volvo has updated the XC90 crossover with slightly new looks and a host of features for the 2013 model. The XC90 debuted at Detroit Motor show in early 2002 and the company claims that it has updated the crossover by over 322 changes such as:

Volvo XC90 exterior changes:

• New color-coordinated trim
• Revised bumpers
• Sill moldings and wheel arches.
• Headlamps with LED running lights and redesigned Tail lamps
• Silver scruff plate
• Two new colors – Twilight Bronze and Flaminco Red

Volvo XC90 interior changes:

• Sanded silver aluminum inlays
• White instrument lighting
• Leather tailgate strap
• Wood rimmed steering wheel
• Higher-end Premium Plus and Platinum trim levels gain special Sovereign hide soft leather and walnut wood

Under the hood, XC90s continues the 3.2-liter straight six, which generates 240 horsepower and 236 lb-ft. of torque. A six-speed automatic puts power to either the front or all four wheels, depending on specification.

This model could be Volvo India’s first launch of 2012. The XC90 is brought into India through the CBU route.

To this day, I can still hear the gentle spool of the Volvo S60 that we drove quite a while back. Sadly, Volvo India is not doing that great in the Indian market. The three Germans have literally gobbled up the Indian Luxury market, leaving the Swedish company with very little customers.

A very important reason why the German are leading is because of their ‘Executive’ versions of the products. Executive means the same cars in terms of engines and other technical specifications but stripped off their luxury features. This is totally a volumes game where numbers matter the most.

Volvo, till now, did not have executive versions of any of their car. All of them were fully loaded and thus had a higher price tag which made them a bit uncompetitive. But all of that is about to change.

The company reportedly has plans to launch stripped-down variants of some of its models to boost sales.

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Under the ownership of Ford, the successor to the Volvo XC90 wasn’t a priority. The sale of the brand certainly was and after being bought out by Chinese auto company Geely, the XC90 revival is back in focus, according to Dutch website Autowereld.com.

Volvo’s new owners see diamonds hidden in the XC90 as a stylish 7 seat SUV is a fantastic idea for the Chinese market. The current generation model has found many Chinese homes and for the trend to continue in a cut-throat environment seeing new arrivals everyday, a revival is mandatory.

It is reported that Volvo will give a mild makeover for the XC90 in late 2011 which will not involve any structural changes. The light clusters, grille, wheels and cabin color palette will be different. The design will be along the lines of the XC60, but sticking larger XC60 design element on a generation old Volvo will not make it a graceful car.

Having secured a safe position for the immediate future, the attention will turn to reviving the old workhorse for a late 2013 debut. The structurally different model could be bigger but the car’s weight will hardly increase due to clever construction techniques and use of light weight materials.

Changes under the hood will include an all new powertrain. A compact petrol engine fitted with a supercharger will join a hybrid powertrain. There’s no talk of diesels, but the twin turbo D5 from the current Volvo range could be improved to continue serving in diesel-loving Europe. The new XC90 could help Volvo increase its market share in America where it wants a decent presence. The XC90 is sold in India and is bought through the CBU channel.

The Volvo XC90 goes head to head with the Mercedes GL-Class and Audi’s Q7. The latter is also going to see drastic change in design and mechanicals three years from now.

With an intention of strengthening its presence in the Luxury SUV segment in India, German Auto giant Audi plans to introduce its newly launched model Q5 January next year, along with an advanced version of its existing Q7 in the country. The Q5 is a comfortable 5-seater with an enormous boot. Unlike the Audi Q7 that shares its architecture with the VW Touareg, the Q5 is nothing like it, because  [ Read More ]