Volvo Plans To Expand Its Used-Car Business Pan-India By Early 2024

Volvo Cars India has said that it wants to expand its used car business pan-India by early 2024. The company, which recently launched a bunch of new cars in the Indian market, including the XC40 facelift, expects at least a third of its volumes to come from the used car business once the network is fully in place. Globally, the Swedish carmaker sells used cars through a separate pre-owned car vertical called ‘Volvo Selekt’ and the company recently launched it in India with two dealerships.

Speaking with the Press Trust of India (PTI), Jyoti Malhotra, Managing Director, Volvo Cars India said, “We have just started a pilot for our pre-owned certified car platform Volvo Selekt with two dealers in India. We want to expand it in phases, and we are looking to ensure that the platform is across our network by 2023 or early 2024.”

Also Read: 2022 Volvo XC40 Launched: Price, Features & Specifications

Malhotra says that used car volumes could gain a lot more traction if the segment is driven, by vehicle manufacturers. According to him, customers want quality, assurance, warranties, and the right inspection by manufacturers, when it comes to buying a used car. This way the seller gets the right price for the car, while the buyer in addition to the right price also gets quality and value. And that is the kind of model Volvo Cars India is working upon, says Jyoti Malhotra. He expects at least one-third of Volvo Cars’ volume to come from the used car platform once it is functional across the network in India.

Jyoti Malhotra, MD, Volvo Cars India expects at least one-third its volume to come from the used car platform.

As for the new car business, Volvo Cars India’s total sales stood at 1,724 units in 2021, which was 27 per cent higher than the 1,361 cars sold a year ago. And the company is optimistic about 2022 as well. Speaking with PTI, Malhotra said that the first half of 2022 has seen good demand with volumes spiking 17 per cent year-on-year at 800-odd units, and added, the July-December period of the year could see sales growing by 25 per cent. “Demand-wise, it is better as we have good order intake but are still constrained by supplies," he added. Malhotra estimates that the company could close the year (2022) at around 1,900- 2,000 cars which, in his view, will be a "decent growth" considering the supply-chain constraints.

According to the 2022 Indian Blue Book (IBB), the used car industry, was valued at $23 billion, Rs. 1,83,251 crore approximately, during the FY2021-22 fiscal year. The segment is expected to grow and expand at a Compound annual growth rate or CAGR of 19.5 per cent by FY2026-27, achieving a volume of 8 million units a year. In FY2022 the total volume of India’s used car market stood at around 4.4 million units.