On the back of the gala launches of the Linea and Grande Punto in 2009, Fiat has enjoyed a very successful year in the Indian market. Riding on the great looks and performance of the two cars coupled with the aggressive introductory pricing strategy that was employed Fiat managed to clock in very impressive numbers for the current year. The pricing strategy employed for the two Fiat cars was also instrumental in maximizing the impact of the launches and creating higher recall for Fiat in the minds of Indian consumers.

With the Linea and Grande Punto having enjoyed such impressive sales since their entry into the Indian market, Fiat will now set out a new pricing for both of them. Owing to increasing input costs through the year, the company has taken the decision to have the prices of the Linea and the Grande Punto increased by 2 – 2.5%. Prices would go up by about Rs.15,000 on average, and upto Rs.25,000 for some of the versions. The price increase will be effective from 1st January 2010. The prices of the Fiat Palio Stile will remain unchanged.

Since its launch in January 2009, the Linea has clocked more than 12,000 units of sales; and the Grande Punto , launched in June has sold more than 9000 plus units. Both Linea & Grande Punto are available in FIRE petrol & Multijet diesel options.

On the upcoming price increase for the Linea and the Grande Punto, Mr. Rajeev Kapoor, President & CEO, FIAL said, “Both the Linea and the Grande Punto have received a tremendous response in the Indian market and clocked very impressive numbers. The initial pricing of both the cars was an introductory offer so as to allow more patrons to experience these great products. Input material costs have gone up substantially and without wanting to burden our consumers too much, the cars will now be available with a price increase of 2-2.5%. The Linea & Grande Punto continue to be two of the most attractive propositions in their respective segments.”

Both of these marquee cars – the Linea and Grande Punto have created a real stir in the Indian auto sector owing to their great looks and admirable performance and continue to be amongst the leading pack in auto sales in 2009

We Thank Carwale.com for such a wonderful review of Fiat Linea. Click on the link to read more

The Linea epitomises what a Fiat is and should be to us. It’s good looking, has good ride quality, packs in brilliant handling, is built like a rock and has a decently appointed interior with all the frills expected in the segment with the Emotion Pack Plus. Add to this equation a frugal pair of engines, and now better sales and service – there’s little wonder why we’ve been seeing so many Lineas (and Puntos) on the road. This does seem to be Fiat’s comeback car and this time around, with improved ownership experiences, there’s little stopping FIAL from becoming a household name once again.

If you’re in the market for a stylish, contemporary sedan which looks more expensive than it costs (especially with the alloys and chrome bits on the top-end variants) with a frugal engine, a perfect blend of ride and handling, and most importantly, if you’re passionate about cars, look no further than the Linea. There’s still some soul about Italian cars that makes them stand out from the competition.

Says Carwale.com, India’s leading Automobile portal

Fiat India Automobiles Limited (FIAL) today announced its intent to increase its focus on exports under which they have exported the recently launched Fiat Linea to South Africa.

As part of this strategy, Fiat has begun testing new growth opportunities overseas with sharp focus on SAARC countries like Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka as well as other right hand drive countries. The company targets to export 7000 units of Fiat’s India manufactured cars this year.

As a first step the company has exported a batch of Fiat Linea to South Africa. The exported batch of Linea is similar to the one driven on Indian roads. Fiat’s products have been well received in South Africa in the past and cars were supplied to this country from Fiat’s plants in Brazil and Europe. Fiat India expects to receive a good response to the Linea 1.4 emotion pack in this market.

Speaking on the initiative, Mr. Rajeev Kapoor, CEO, Fiat India Automobiles Limited said, “The Fiat Linea has been extremely well received by customers and auto enthusiasts in India as it has redefined the segment with its superior design, performance and precision engineering. The export of the Linea to South Africa is an integral part of our endeavour to reach out to international markets and establish our presence beyond India. We are confident that we will be able to replicate the success of this car overseas as well and thereby expand our footprint and brand identity across markets. This is a step in the direction of reaffirming our position as an international auto giant.”

This is not the first time that Fiat has entered an export venture in South Africa. In the last 12 months, the company has exported Palio to South Africa

Hi-res pictures of Fiat Linea

Happy news for those busy persons who are on the drive and thrive for easy communication – the solution comes in the way of Blue & Me TM, currently available in Fiat 500 and Linea and is the derivation of the combined effort between Fiat Auto and Microsoft. The benefits, out of this Blue & MeTM are- no need for hands off from the steering, just application of a series of voice commands, attending to incoming telephone calls / SMS messages, referring to phonebook and easy access to MP3s. The operation is available for phones with support base of Bluetooth technology.

The handsfree system is ideologically devised to relax the users with just voice-recognition technology and everything is a quicker process. Once the Bluetooth is coupled with the system (as an one-time installation), the communication is made easy with the downloading of the phonebook. Every required command is given at voice and the major advantage is that the system can be equipped with 5 phones so that there is no hassle with any phone.

A call to can be made by dictating the number, digit wise or the name of the person(from the phonebook) to whom the call is intended. The automobile system is alternative usage of steering wheel control thereby scrolling the phonebook to display at the panel.

The SMS will be read out to the user with necessary interpretations and expansion of abbreviations. The enjoyment of driving is made penury with the Blue&MeTM as MP3/WMA/WAV are built in the digital format. The user has to connect the Media Player to the USB port , and the display “MEDIA PLAYER” will appear and place it in the dashboard and if the files downloaded are free from copyright (as iTunes) there will not be any hindrance for musical enchantment.

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Credit Details

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Countdown kick starts for Fiat Linea launch

The wait is over! Fiat Linea the winner of many coveted awards across the world is all set to rock the Indian sedan market. Linea which represents the modern face of Fiat is a C plus segment sedan which was launched internationally in May 2007 at Istanbul. Fiat India started production of the Linea at its Tata Motors-Fiat facility at Ranjangaon in November 2008. Fiat has already despatched the first batch of 100 Lineas from its plant in Ranjangaon near Pune.

Fiat Linea an elegantly functional car, with a strong Italian imprint, it will be equipped with features found in higher segment cars. The Linea has elegant proportions, with a curved rear window and stubby bootlid.Linea will be available in three variants with two engine options.

Fiat Linea which has already won hearts of Indian auto journalist and auto enthusiasts also bagged the prestigious AutoCar-UTVi 2008 COTY (Car Of The Year) winner. Gear up! to welcome style on wheels.

Fiat India Automobiles Ltd, one of country’s leading car makers, today commenced the production of Linea at its Ranjangaon plant located near Pune in Maharashtra. Linea, the much-awaited sedan from Fiat’s stable will grace the Indian roads shortly. The start of production of the flagship car also signifies the progress of Fiat’s facility which is an industrial Joint Venture with Tata Motors Ltd. The 200 acre facility now has a completely equipped body shop, assembly line, a paint shop which is to be commissioned shortly and the Powertrain Plant.

Linea is a C plus segment sedan which was launched internationally in May 2007 in Istanbul, after which it met with great success in all markets where it is present. An elegantly functional car, with a strong Italian imprint, it will be equipped with features found in higher segment cars. The launch of Linea will be followed by the Grande Punto, a successful hatchback from Fiat’s stable, which will also be manufactured from the Ranjangaon facility. The Grande Punto is a top seller in Europe and has an annual sales of about 3, 50,000.

The company, Fiat India Automobiles Ltd, recently signed a MoU with the Government of Maharashtra to enhance the capacities at the plant. Apart from manufacturing of Fiat and Tata cars, the facility will also produce powertrain engines. The plant, which falls in taluka Shirur, district Pune, in its full capacity will produce up to 2, 00,000 cars, 3, 00,000 engines and 3, 00,000 parts & accessories.

Mr. Rajeev Kapoor, CEO, Fiat India Automobiles Ltd added, “The start of production of Linea is an important milestone for us and is a significant step in fulfilling the promise we had made to at the Auto Expo in New Delhi earlier this year. The plant has made progress as planned and all the facilities are set to move into top gear from hereon. We have also commenced export activity from the plant and would continue to do so to utilise the capacities at the plant.” Exports of the 1.2 Palio petrol both the AC and non-AC variants have commenced. The 1.2 Palio petrol is being exported to South Africa and the company will look at prospective right hand drive markets for export of other products. The products exported from the Ranjangaon plant will include versions of the Palio, Linea and Grande Punto. FIAL also supplies automobile components to other Fiat facilities.

Update on facilities at the plant:

Body Shop:

All variants of Linea and Grande Punto are planned to be manufactured from the body shop.  The facility uses roller skid mechanism for body transfer and has 19 robots in all. While two of these robots are Nachi make, the rest are ABB.

The 19 robots are utilized for:

o Hemming- 6 robots
o Spot welding- 10 robots
o Tucker pin welding – 2 robots
o Body handling- 1 robots

The plant is also equipped with a suspension shop adjoining to the body shop. Suspension shop has 18 robots, all of which are ABB make.

These 18 robots are utilized for:

* Spot welding- 1 robot
* Arc welding- 17 robots

The shop has a WBS (white body storage) with a capacity of 96 bodies. PLC (which uses Ethernet) is used in a master-slave arrangement for effective implementation of the manufacturing process. Engines and transmissions are coupled in the trimming plant, vehicle specific components are fitted and complete powertrains are delivered on JIT basis to the customers.

Assembly Shop:

The assembly shop is designed to assemble Linea, Grande Punto and Tata X1 sedan. The assembly line is installed by Genix Automation from Korea. Painted bodies are received on Skid Conveyors from paint shop and assembled on slat and power & free conveyors. Front and rear suspensions are supplied through conveyor and marriage to car is done on the decking conveyor. Doors are dismantled and assembled on P&F conveyors. Sub-Assemblies like front suspension, rear suspension, dashboards, bumpers; etc are done separately and assembled on to the cars. Glass sealant application is by ABB robots. Seats and tyres are supplied to the main line on conveyors. Manipulators are used for assembling dashboard, seats, tyres and fuel tanks. End of line machines include BEP make Wheel alignment machine, Brake & roller machine and DSA make Electrical Diagnosis machine. The cars are also checked for water leakage.

Powertrain Division:

The powertrain division has the capacity to produce FPT – Fiat Powertrain Technologies products. The products from the plant will include engines SDE (Diesel 1248 cc 16 V), FIRE 8V (Petrol 1172 cc / 1368 cc), FIRE 16V (Petrol 1368 cc) and C510 transmission (5 speed 210 Nm)

The key features of powertrain plant are:

* Flexibility in product and in volume. The deep usage of CNC machinery (~ 100%) and the specific design of the layout and building of the facility were focused to ensure possible future production increases.

* Automation of all operations that have direct impact on quality and ergonomics.

Powertrain division includes engines, transmissions and trimming plants.

Engine quality is ensured by automatic in process verification stations, by leak test benches and final cold/hot test cells. The technology of cold test allows verifying in an environmentally friendly way (the engine is put in rotation by an electrical motor) the characteristics that influence engine performance as intake and exhaust pressure, timing and electrical connections, fuel pressure, frictions and many others.

Transmission plant has machining of shafts and gears with a facility for the heat treatment. Assembly line has in process controls with automatic stations and sophisticated noise test equipment.