Volvo Highlights the Upside of Many Chinese EV Brands in Indonesia

KatadataOTO – The Indonesian market is currently enlivened by various automotive brands from China. There are several advantages, one of which is competitive pricing with abundant features.

This presents a unique challenge for various other brands, including luxury car brands like Volvo.

Despite this challenge, Volvo asserts that the presence of various Chinese brands has a positive side, which is providing more options for customers.

On the other hand, the increasing number of Chinese EV (Electric Vehicle) models in Indonesia can help develop the ecosystem, such as public electric vehicle charging stations (SPKLU).

“Then people will also become more familiar with using electric cars as their mode of transportation. So overall, I think it's a good thing,” said Koji Horii, Chief Strategy Officer of Volvo Car Indonesia, when met in South Jakarta, Thursday (17/04).

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Volvo also presents a number of environmentally friendly vehicle lines for consumers in the premium segment. The latest is the XC90 PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle).

This Swedish brand is committed to becoming an electrification company by 2040. 

Amidst the tight competition with various Chinese brands, Volvo remains confident it can exist and be in demand among premium segment consumers.

“As long as we can explain and offer the value of (Volvo) cars to customers, I think many people will still choose our models,” Horii emphasized.

Horii was reluctant to explain in detail about Volvo's targets in the Indonesian market but is committed to remaining present and growing in Indonesia through its product lineup.

Speaking of their newest product, the Volvo XC90, Horii revealed that the units are produced in Malaysia.

Consumers can place an order for a price of IDR 2.75 billion (on the road Jakarta) for consideration. However, the stock is still limited.

“Starting today, customers can directly touch (the Volvo XC90) and also (visit) the pop-up store. We are waiting for a good response from consumers,” Horii emphasized.

For your information, the Volvo XC90 fills the environmentally friendly vehicle lineup in the premium SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) segment.

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The updated version includes several changes such as the grille design and Google integration in the head unit.

Besides comfort and elegant design, Volvo offers good performance with the use of a 2,000 cc engine with PHEV T8 recharge technology and a 19 kWh battery.

The inclusion of the battery gives the Volvo an extra range of up to 70 km without the help of the gasoline engine on a single charge.