New Delhi: Swedish car major Volvo Car Corporation has entered India with two flagship products, the S80 sedan and the XC90 sports utility vehicle (SUV), with starting prices of Rs38 lakh, and Rs45 lakh respectively.

The company has introduced two petrol (3.2litre and 4.4litre) and one diesel engine (2.5litre) variant in both the models.

According to Paul de Voijs, managing director, Volvo Car India, the company is very excited about India as a market for its luxury cars, and expects it to grow exponentially in the next couple of years.

He said the company plans to commence its Indian operations with a dealership each in Chandigarh, Mumbai and Delhi, and would later scale up its dealer network to nine by end 2008. Volvo will import its products as completely built units (CBUs) from its manufacturing plant in Sweden.

The S80 sedan petrol variant is to be priced at Rs38 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), with the diesel variant cheaper by Rs1 lakh. The petrol version of the XC90 will cost Rs46 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), with the diesel version a lakh cheaper at Rs45 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

The S80 sedan would see competition in the form of BMW''s 5-series, whose price ranges from Rs37-Rs42 lakh, and the SUV XC90 will compete with the Audi Q7, the BMW X5 and the Mercedes M Class, in the Rs60 lakh plus category.

Volvo passenger car business is owned by US-based auto major Ford Motor Co.