Stockholm, Sep 28 (DPA) Swedish heavy vehicle maker Volvo announced Wednesday that it had signed a deal to produce bus bodies in India with Indian company Jaico Automobiles, part of the Azad Group.

Volvo Buses said it would be majority owner with a 70 percent stake in the new company.

A planned new plant would have the capacity to make 1,000 bus bodies a year, Volvo said without releasing financial details.

The bus bodies were mainly aimed for Volvo buses and coaches in the Indian market although the new company would also explore possibilities to export buses to other Volvo markets in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

No decision had yet been reached on where the new plant would be located, the statement said.

Currently, Jaico Automobiles makes bodies for Volvo's Indian coaches and buses at a plant in Bangalore.

The Volvo group - which does not include the Ford-owned car division - sells trucks and heavy vehicles, buses, construction machinery and includes the divisions Volvo Aero and Volvo Penta.