Recent spottings of the Volvo V40 Cross Country in a dealer yard in Kochi got us all excited about the local launch.
Considering the V40 is going to land as a CBU unit in India, we were pretty sure that like other manufacturers, Volvo India too is waiting for Budget 2013. Shortly after the budget is announced, the V40 Cross Country will be shown to the Indian market.
Sudeep Narayan, Marketing & PR Director at Volvo Auto India spoke to IndianAutosBlog.com this afternoon. He said "We are likely to unveil the V40 Cross Country to the Indian market in April."
Narayan did not provide us with a fixed launch date for the little pseudo off roader. The India debut isn't expected before mid-2013. The homologation formalities have to be complete before the car can retail at dealerships.
On landing, there is competition to welcome the V40 Cross Country in the form of the BMW X1 facelift, the Audi Q3 (launched this year with a petrol motor) and the B Class diesel which might saturate the market by that time.
The V40 Cross Country is not a full blooded SUV; it is a V40 hatchback with visual off roading gear. In this situation, even upcoming luxury hatchbacks such as the BMW 1 Series, destined for late 2013, and the Mercedes A Class, launching with both petrol and diesel in July, will give the V40 Cross Country a run for its money.
Volvo India's Managing Director Mr. Tomas Ernberg told Indian Autos Blog last month that the V40 Cross Country will launch with two engine options - 1.6L petrol and 2.0-liter diesel - without the option of AWD technology.
Volvo India plans to be a top luxury player in India by the end of the decade by garnering a 15% market share. Models like the V40 Cross Country have to shine for Volvo to be on course.
