Swedish bus maker Volvo on 12th January said that it expects to introduce a CNG variant of its 8400 city bus in India by the third quarter of the year.

Mumbai and Delhi could possibly be the cities where the CNG variant would be rolled out first, a top official of Volvo Bus Corporation (VBC) president Mr. Hakan Karlsson said. He, however, refused to divulge any details of order book for the same.

The buses, which were undergoing field trials in Delhi, are expected to cost 15% to 20% more than the current diesel version, he said. The buses, to be built at Volvo's Hoskote facility in the state of Karnataka, are expected to help the company garner better share of the city bus segment in the country.

The bus maker also said that it has the hybrid technology platform in place. The platform involves a blend of electric and diesel technology, which could ensure 40% cost efficiency but would cost 50% more.

Talking about Volvo's goals for the India market, Mr. Hakan said, "India will be one of our biggest operation going forward. We will localise on current global platform and adopt to meet Indian and Asian market needs." The company plans to develop India as one among its four important global hub. The other three being Europe, China and one around Mexico.

"India would be the global hub for Volvo buses", in terms of production, export and developing products, Mr. Hakkan said. "We are investing in capabilities. We will build a strong hub in India to cater to both the domestic and global market", he said.

Volvo is looking at producing 5000 units from India by 2015 and a made-in-India product by the same time frame for the domestic and global market.