Confirmed: Volvo XC90 will be the first plug-in hybrid SUV to be assembled in India by the second half of 2019

Abhishek Samuel Updated: July 05, 2018, 09:14 PM IST

With its pricing, Volvo Cars has ensured that the XC40 SUV one-ups the competition in its segment. A day earlier, the compact luxury SUV was launched in India at an introductory price of Rs 39.9 lakh (ex-showroom). Speaking at the same event, the Swedish carmaker's India MD Charles Frump has stated that its range-topping XC90 will be assembled in a plug-in hybrid form in India from next year. The Volvo XC90 T8 Excellence variant with the plug-in hybrid tech will kick off the India part of the company's plan to sell a million electrified cars globally by 2025. Most importantly, this will be the first plug-in hybrid to be assembled in the country.

Volvo currently brings the top-spec XC90 T8 Excellence hybrid into the country as a CBU and sells it at Rs 1.3 crore (ex-showroom). OVERDRIVE has learned that the assembly of this plug-in hybrid SUV will begin in the second half of next year. Even before this, Volvo also plans to start assembling the XC60 at its India plant, by the end of this year. While it has not been confirmed, the local assembly will definitely lead to a lower price than the one at present. However, with the taxation structure for hybrid electric vehicles (EVs) in the country, it remains to be seen how much of a difference in price this will lead to.

The Volvo XC90 is based on the carmaker's Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform, developed to house a hybrid powertrain. Its T8 engine is a combination of a 2.0-litre 4-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor powered by a Lithium-ion battery. The direct-injection turbocharged and supercharged petrol engine makes 320PS. The electric motor generates 87PS and 240Nm, for a combined output of 407PS and 640Nm. The engine comes mated to an 8-speed Aisin gearbox.