SUVs in great demand in India

Volvo auto maker launched Volvo XC60, its second sports utility vehicle in India that has created a ripple in the domestic market. The luxury on wheels comes with a price tag of Rs 3.95 million ($86,367). Volvo auto maker has launched the car after the Volvo XC90, the expensive and power vehicle which was introduced in 2008 and also the Volvo S80 the premium class sedan that is already available in the Indian auto market.

Volvo with its new savvy SUV has given sleepless nights to its competitors in the Indian auto market. The demand for the luxury car in India has increased among the car aficionados and to take advantage of the growth auto biggies are coming with range of luxury vehicles. The Volvo XC60 has been pitched against BMW AG, Audi AG, Daimler AG and more which are investing in the growing market.

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SUVs have been criticized time and again with issues such as emission, global warming and much more. Despite all of this the SUV market in India is gaining momentum with a demand upsurge. The SUV segment in the Indian car market has seen an array of auto mobile makers investing. Recently, more than four SUVs were launched in an year and these sports wagons have received overwhelming response in the market.

Toyota Fortuner, the SUV from the Japanese auto giant had to close the bookings twice because of the order backlog. To enjoy the brewing domestic market, Skoda auto maker has recently launched Skoda Yeti, the SUV and hopes to sell as many as 8,000 cars in the next year.

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In October, Hyundai Motors started shipping Hyundai Santa Fe to India with expected sales target of 500 to 600 cars every year. But the company received 535 bookings in just two weeks of its launch which has made the company revalue its targets. The company plans to utilize this situation its favour and focus on the imports of the SUV.

The Utility vehicle market has raised to 22 per cent from April to October in the 2010 fiscal year which will close on March 31st to 183,825 cars. The SUVs which have been launched have been priced between Rs 1.5 million to Rs 2.3 million coming in diesel and petrol powertrains in 2.0 litre to 2.4 litre engine. The new vehicle to join the SUV group in India is the BMW X1, expected to be coming in the 2011 beginning with similar price range and engine.

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The SUV segment is catching up the heat in the market recently being explored by the car lovers in India. This segment offers various options from OEMs such as the Indian manufacturers Mahindra Mahindra with Mahindra Bolero, Mahindra Xylo, Mahindra Scorpio and Mahindra Scorpio W, from Tata Motors, the first Indian crossover Tata Aria. These SUVs offer better mileage and excellent fuel efficiency. Then, there are Mercedes GL Class or BMW X6 models which comes with a price range of Rs 10 million or more.

Kapil Arora, a partner in the automotive practice at the consultancy firm at Ernst Young India said that the passenger car segment in the domestic auto market is yet to be explored. But with the growing purchasing power of the buyers, the luxury vehicles are in great demand. He also ushered that the economy growing at a decent speed has shown scope for growth in this segment.

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