A good news for all Fiat fans in India. Fiat India is planning to launch a first ever made-for-India car in the Indian market by 2011. Prototypes will arrive in India in a year’s time for extensive road trials.

The results and feedback from the trials will lead to the final round of tweaking before Fiat India Automobiles Ltd begins manufacturing the small car at its Ranjangaon facility

Fiat India president and CEO Rajeev Kapoor said the small car to be positioned between the A and B segments was already off the drawing board. “The small car - conceived for the Indian market - has been designed at Fiat’s legendary design studio in Turin. There are several steps between the drawing board to actual production-grade vehicles. The car will definitely be launched in 2011,” he said.

Courtesy: TimesOfIndia

Ready, Set, Vrooom! With that motto in mind, Fiat India flagged off a drive of epic proportions called ‘Fiat Diesel Drives India’ today. ‘Fiat Diesel Drives India’ will be taking Fiat’s 4 multijet diesel offerings- the Linea, Grande Punto, Palio and Fiat 500 through testing Indian terrains over a period of a month and a half. This one-of-a-kind journey will traverse through diverse terrains within 16 states in India, clocking over 10,000 kilometers in total. The drive has been aimed at generating awareness about Fiat’s rich history in connection with diesel technology as well as their longstanding success in rolling out endurance driven, yet stylish and classy automobiles.

The drive will involve auto journalists from India’s top auto magazines, namely, Zigwheels, Car India, Overdrive, Auto India, BS Motoring, Autocar India, AutoBild, Top Gear, Auto Exchange, Automotive Product Finder and a special team of auto experts. In addition to this, the drive will also involve electronic channels like ET Now, NDTV 24X7, CNBC TV 18, NDTV India, Zee Business, UTVi, Aaj Tak, IBN7, Times Now, online portals such as Carwale.com, teambhp.com and publications such as New Indian Express. Through the course of the drive, these esteemed experts will take Fiat’s diesel engines to the extreme by taking the 4 cars through a stern test of power, performance and engine finesse. With this drive, Fiat, the inventor and pioneer of the high tech Multijet diesel engines, aims to stamp its authority on the diesel scenario in India as well as create further awareness about their engine’s presence in majority of the cars in India.

Speaking at the flag off, Mr. Rajeev Kapoor, President & CEO, FIAL, said, “Fiat’s diesel inventions and technology constitute a landmark position in global automobile history. Our state of the art 1.3 multijet engines have revolutionized the diesel movement and achieved unparalleled success abroad. The engines have always performed admirably and with excellent finesse in all kinds of diverse climates and terrains across the world. Fiat’s success story in India has also been somewhat similar. In India, though the dynamic climate and unpredictable terrains in particular has been a challenging test for our engines, we have overcome the test with flying colors. The ‘Fiat Diesel Drives India’ drive is Fiat’s way of showing that our engines have passed the Great Indian test and are at the highest level of competency and reliability as technology today can provide.”

Through the extensive drive, Fiat will also look to reinforce the presence of their strong and ever growing network across India. Today, the Tata-Fiat network constitutes 99 dealerships and 6 point of sales spanning across 77 cities in the country. All these dealerships have a separate identity for Fiat and offer an international ownership experience for customers.

‘Fiat Diesel Drives India’ promises to be an exhilarating and novel drive that experiences India and all its cultural flavours

Mr. Rajeev Kapoor, CEO Fiat India, at the launch of Fiat First - a comprehensive service program

Mr. Rajeev Kapoor , CEO Fiat India at the launch of Fiat First - a comprehensive customer service program

Mr Rajeev Kapoor, CEO Fiat,Mr. Vikram Sinha, VP Customer Service Tata Motors and Mr. Ravi Bhatia, VP Commercial, Fiat India at the launch of Fiat First - a comprehensive customer service program

‘Fiat’, known for its stylish cars and legacy, holds a special place in the hearts of many Indians. Many people in the country remember Fiat as their first car and a now a whole new generation of Indians are discovering the Fiat of their time and age. The year 2009 has been a revival of sorts for one of the country’s most endeared car brands. For the past few years Fiat has been preparing for this new phase in the Indian market and the efforts have met with tremendous response. The beginning of the year saw the launch of its stylish and elegant sedan, Linea which is at the core of Fiat’s success in recent times.

Linea within nine months of its launch has crossed the milestone of clocking more than 10,000 units. This figure becomes even more important considering that Fiat sold a total of 3550 cars in the corresponding period last year from January to September. Also, the Grande Punto has sold more than 5000 units within three months of its introduction.

Speaking about the milestone, Mr. Rajeev Kapoor, CEO, Fiat India Automobiles Ltd said, “Fiat is a brand which has been deeply rooted in the Indian psyche for many decades now. Our dream is to see a lot many Fiat vehicles plying on Indian roads. The milestone achieved by Linea is a testimony that we are inching closer towards this goal. Now, we are confident that the Grande Punto will emulate if not exceed this success.”

Fiat India is targeting sales of 50,000 units in the next financial year apart from planning a few variants of both its model—Grande Punto and Linea—within the next two years.

“We hope to sell 50,000 units in 2010-11. We are also planning a few variants of the Grande Punto and Linea,” said Fiat India president and CEO Rajeev Kapoor in New Delhi.

Sales of the company’s small car Grande Punto, launched a couple of months back, is picking up, Kapoor said.

“We are currently selling 1,800 units of Grande Punto every month and hope this number will reach 2,000 by Diwali,” Kapoor said. “More variants of Punto and Linea are lined up in the next one to two years.”

He, however, declined to give the specifics of the variants, the company plans to launch.

Linea is currently selling around 1,000 units every month.

Asked about phasing out its hatchback Palio Stile, the company’s bread and butter model once, Kapoor said, decision in this regard would be taken after two years

Courtesy: LiveMint

Fiat India Automobiles Limited, a 50:50 Joint Venture between Tata Motors Limited and Fiat Group Automobiles SpA today announced the completion of financial closure for projects at their plant. The projects involve manufacturing Powertrain and Fiat & Tata branded cars at their Ranjangaon plant near Pune. The company has finalised three syndicated secured credit facility agreements with a consortium of Indian and International banks for a total amount equivalent to INR 25 billion.

All the Syndicated Credit Facilities have been arranged by Citibank N.A. acting through its Mumbai, London and Milan offices and include:

* An ECB Credit Facility, supported an insurance policy issued by SACE (the Italian export credit agency), for an amount of EURO 130 million, with a tenor of seven years, intended for capital expenditures purposes of the company

* An INR Term Credit Facility for an amount of INR 10 billions with a tenor of 6 years, intended for capital expenditures purposes of the company

* An INR Short Term Revolving Credit Facility for an amount of INR 6 billions, with a tenor of 364 days, intended for working capital purposes of the company

The participating banks are Calyon, Citibank, Deutsche Bank and Natixis under the ECB Credit Facility; State Bank of India, IDBI Bank, Punjab National Bank and Union Bank of India under the INR Term Credit Facility and State Bank of India, IDBI Bank, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India and Citibank under the INR Short Term Revolving Credit Facility.

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

Auto maker Tata Motors announced that in order to provide an added facility of passenger vehicle finance to its customers, it has entered into an understanding with State Bank of Hyderabad for financing of Fiat cars. The Fiat cars are available through the Tata-Fiat dealer network.

Fiat customers can avail loans up to 85 per cent of the on-road price, for tenure ranging up to 7 years, at an attractive interest rate of 10.25-10.75 per cent p.a. for new Fiat cars of their choice from the Fiat Linea, the Fiat Palio Stile and recently launched Fiat Grande Punto. This facility will be available at all the branches of State Bank of Hyderabad (except Service branches). This tie-up will provide consumers a single window for availing loans for the whole range of Fiat cars distributed by Tata Motors.

The State Bank of Hyderabad a government owned bank and the State Bank of India’s largest Associate. Customers can also avail the facility at the 100 sales touch points of Tata-Fiat distribution Network.

Fiat India Automobiles Ltd, the 50:50 Joint Venture between Fiat S.p.A and Tata Motors, announced that it is poised to launch both the petrol and diesel versions of the Grande Punto, a mid-size hatchback, on June 17, 2009. The company plans to launch and unveil the car at a grand ceremony to be held in New Delhi. The car is what many would consider a perfect follow up to the Linea which has already created ripples in the C plus segment. Grande Punto will roll out from the company’s state-of-the-art plant at Ranjangaon which also manufactures Fiat’s Linea and Palio.

The car designed by the ‘Car Designer of the Century’ – Giorgetto Giugiaro, has consistently done well since its launch in Europe in 2005. The Grande Punto known for its cutting edge design and robust engineering will drive to India with the numerous accolades that it has won world over. Recognitions for the car include Brazil’s ‘Carro Do anno 2008’ (Car of the Yar 2008), Autocar magazine’s coveted design award and Auto Interamericana 2008 among many others. The car also comes with the comforting 5-Star Euro Ncap safety rating which will be a factor that many buyers would want to consider. Positioned as a large two box hatch, it has been designed to represent three fundamental qualities, namely- beauty, solidity and brilliance, all coupled into a terrific car that has quintessential Italian styling. The stylish car will fall in the same segment as the Maruti Suzuki Ritz, Hyundai i20, Skoda Fabia and the to-be-launched Honda Jazz.

The company has promised to make the Grande Punto a great value proposition like the Linea through increased localisation to the extent of 85% by December 2009. The company is also working overtime to ensure that the car is supported through a robust Tata-Fiat dealer network comprising of 100 sales and service outlets by time of launch. To further enhance customer experience and strengthen after sales support for Grande Punto launch, series of initiatives have been taken which include extensive training to over 800 dealer sales & service staff. New dealer identity norms have been introduced at showrooms and workshops which meet international standards. In addition JD Power has been hired to conduct quarterly CSI/SSI survey to monitor customer satisfaction and feedback on regular intervals.