Volvo Cars lives the rapid evolution of the world of mobility and wants to keep up with the pace of change, which is why its portfolio of electric vehicles evolves rapidly and considers that countries such as Colombia, rich in clean and alternative energy sources, they can accelerate that transformation.
(See: Corautos Andino presents the medium truck Foton FTR Cummins).
During the Americas market launch of the new Volvo XC 40 Recharge, Luis Rezende, Head of the Latam Hub and CEO of Volvo Car Brazil, He spoke with Portfolio about the market, energies and the problems due to the different crises that the world is facing.
What are the goals of Volvo Cars in the region?
We want to place 17,000 cars this year. I must tell you that semiconductors still affect us. We expect 65% of that supply to have some degree of electrification. We see that this first semester is somewhat complex, but we hope that the second will be better. And we continue to advance in electrifying the markets, in Brazil, for example, we are 100%, and in Colombia we are 35% electrifying our offer.
How many XC40 are you going to bring?
We are already ordering more cars. Today we are with restrictions due to several factors. For Colombia it will be 300 and for the entire region it will be 1,500.
But to guarantee the product, we also harmonized the vehicles and this allows us to change the destinations of the vehicles in Latin America, the United States or Canada. The point is that the entire region is oversubscribed.
(See: Mazda introduces two hybrid models: Mazda 3 sedan and C-X30 SUV).
That over-demand is temporary…
It’s hard to say, it depends on what’s going to happen to the world. Because we had not seen this global inflation before. And that scares me a bit.
We Latin Americans are more used to the phenomenon and we know how to handle it, it is in our DNA.
Before the war, regardless of the problems, there was always a block of countries that consumed and this allowed companies to change the focus of the market, without the need to increase prices. But what we are experiencing today had not happened in the last 30 years. We all face rising prices.
Could the inflation problem be more serious?
We must look at how the governments are going to react, and it depends on how their measures are going to be. Some will generate tax savings and others will surely spend more. And this will have different consequences.
And if the decisions are not adequate, this will generate even more inflation. Of course this is in general in the world. But, again in general, I believe that the population at the end of the day will pay the bill and this is a pity.
(See: Secretary of Security in Bogotá has seized more than 1,320 auto parts).
How do you see the expansion of charging stations?
We have a very aggressive plan to install public energy chargers in Colombia, this year there will be 150 charging points, but I want to tell you that what experience is showing us is that people prefer to charge the vehicle battery at home, so they arrive they leave it loading and the next day they leave. They treat the electric car like a cell phone, it always leaves the house charged.
Are Premium electric cars expensive?
At Volvo we started with a strategy of making the lowest-end cars 100% electric. We want to be the first 100% electrified Premium brand.
ONE MODEL PER YEAR
How many electric models will they bring?
Launch plans for the Americas are one electric vehicle per year for the next four years.
Of course, for our next launch we still plan to do at the end of this year or at the latest in January we will have another electric model and it will be a larger vehicle.
CESAR GIRALDO
Portfolio Sub-Publisher
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