Volvo plans bus body cooperation in India

27 September 2006

Volvo Bus Corporation and the Jaico Automobiles have reached an agreement to start a joint company in India for production of bus bodies based on Volvo Buses' body technology.

Volvo Buses will be the majority owner with a 70-per cent stake in the new company, which plans to build a new plant with a capacity of 1,000 bus bodies per year.

The bus bodies will primarily be used for Volvo buses and coaches in the Indian market. The new company will also investigate possibilities to export buses to other Volvo markets in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Volvo Buses and Jaico Automobiles have initiated the process that will result in a decision regarding where the new plant will be located. This effort involves contacts with various state governments in India.

When ready, the new plant will be one of the most modern body plant in South Asia with all the characteristic of a Volvo plant when it comes to quality, safety and care for the environment.

Volvo Buses is today the market leader in India for luxury, air-conditioned express coaches. The company has also entered the city bus market in India with a modern low-floor bus with air-conditioning. The bodies to Volvo's Indian coaches and buses are manufactured by Jaico Automobiles (Azad Group) at a plant in Bangalore.