KOLKATA: Fiat Group Automobiles India Ltd (FGAIL), a subsidiary of Italian-American Fiat-Chrysler group, will introduce two new badges in India within the next 12 months. While the iconic jeep brand will be introduced from Chrysler later this year, the company will launch Fiat's performance brand Abarth next year.
Speaking to TOI, Fiat Chrysler India president and managing director Nagesh Basavanhalli said SUVs from the Jeep stable and Abarth would be part of the nine car portfolio that Fiat intended to have in three years, up from just two-hatch Punto and sedan Palio-that it has right now. The company has discontinued manufacture of entry level hatch Palio and import of premium small car Fiat 500.
"We will establish our presence in the premium hatch, entry and premium sedan and SUV segments within the next three years. The nine cars will include both new launches and modification as well as refreshments of existing vehicles," Basavanhalli said.
The new entries will including two SUVs: Jeep Cherokee and Jeep Wrangler; and a performance hatch Abarth Punto. In addition, a stripped down version of the Linea will be launched with the Classic tag and priced around Rs 5 lakh to compete with Ford Fiesta Classic, Toyota Etios and Tata Manza. The remaining vehicles could be a mix of small cars and multi-activity vehicles and multi-utility vehicles.
"Fiat has traditionally been a strong player in some Indian markets. We want to recapture the market and establish a substantial presence in the near future," the executive said, adding that a 5% marketshare is what Fiat would eye in the short to medium term.
Though the Fiat brand had a strong presence in India through a pact with Premier Automobiles Ltd, it took a beating the late 1990s when PAL could not meet the huge bookings that Fiat hatch Uno notched up. After scrapping the deal, Fiat entered the market alone, this time with hatch Palio and sedan Sienna, but failed to enthuse the market. The trust deficit was tough to mend. Introduction of new cars Linea and Punto and a sales and service tieup with Tata Motors did not click. Though Fiat India Automobiles Ltd still shares the production facility at Ranjangaon with Tata, it has decided to go solo on the sales and service front through FGAIL.
The severing of ties with Tata has led to numbers taking a nosedive as sales channels disappeared. Against 8,000-odd Fiat cars sold last year, the Italian brand has managed to sell only 1,060 cars in the first six months this year. But Basavanhalli says the company was prepared to take the risk and will more than make up when its network is in place.
"We are rapidly developing our sales network and already have 75 dealerships spread across 56 cities. By December-end, the count will go up to 95 and we will be well within our target of 100 dealerships by April 2014," he said during the inauguration of the dealership in Kolkata.
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