Fiat India on Growth Trajectory

Having recently lunched their premier dealerships in Delhi as well as Gurgaon, Fiat India have expressed their views that the Italian car manufacturer would be launching up to 9 models this fiscal year. Out of these 9 introductions 4 would belong to Fiat, 4 to Chrysler and 1 would be an Abarth version (Fiat Punto).

Mr. Mahesh Basavanahalli, President and MD Fiat Chrysler talking about Fiat in specific said that the 4 models to be introduced would comprise of facelifts as well as new products, however in next couple of months Indian consumers are likely to see model upgrades specially during the festive season, which is a boom time for the auto industry. He also expressed his opinion that limited edition would be a part of the line up.

On growth, he commented that the company has plans to double their market share, which is currently very less in compare to other brands like Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai. In order to strengthen the brand, Fiat India is looking at initialising initiatives to promote their sedan Fiat Linea as well as their hot hatch fiat Punto. Their focus currently would be on b+ and C segment. special emphasis was also laid upon the fact that the manufacturer is looking to target the SUV segment.

In order to work out other synergies within the Indian auto space, the company is currently having a R&D centre in Chennai with a total strength of 1000 engineers working on Indian as well as international product development. With this, the company plans to equip its workforce with both Indian and international standards for function in regards to research and development.

With an expected launch of the Abarth version, the company has not ruled out a possibility of entering the Motorsport arena. To point out, manufacturers like Volkswagen and Toyota Kirloskar motors are already an active part of the sport and another brand to be added into the list would be great news. Though in the past Fiat on numerous occasions had participated in competitive events like the Desert Storm & Mughal Rally for which they have received recognition.

As for the Jeep brand, Chrysler is looking to launch their products towards the end of the last quarter.