‘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 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

Your favourite car maker Fiat is back with a bang.

Yes, within few days of the launch, Fiat has sold 1512 units of Linea. Linea which already won many awards including the coveted UTVi-Autocar India “Car of the Year” and “Best MidSize Car” is now earning customers goodwill across India.

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Fiat India Automobiles Ltd today entered a new chapter in India with the launch of the Linea which is expected to raise the bar for sedans available in the country. Fiat expects to redefine customer expectations through the car which rides on its success across multiple markets in the world. The numerous awards won by the car are a testimony to the satisfaction it has delivered to multitude of customers. The car designed by the Fiat Style centre in Turin will go on to become Fiat’s flagship product in India. The company announced that both the diesel & petrol version of the car are being launched.

The Linea represents a quantum leap as far as quality, safety and engineering are concerned. The car is expected to create a new sub-segment between the mid-sized cars and the luxury cars segment due to its unique design, comfortability, performance and features. Linea was first launched in Turkey & is presently sold in more than 50 countries across Europe, Asia, Central & South America and Africa. Besides Turkey, the Linea is produced in Brazil and now in India. It will also be manufactured in Russia in the near future. The launch of the Linea marks a big leap forward for Fiat in India, and embodies the company’s new philosophy in India, aimed at bringing its activities and services up to the maximum levels of performance. The recognitions for Linea include ‘AUTOBEST 2008’ in Europe which confirms the excellent welcome that it has received in that part of the world and “The Most interesting Car” at the Auto Motor Show in Katowice, Poland.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Rajeev Kapoor, CEO, Fiat India Automobiles Ltd said, “Fiat has kept its promise of making this an exciting year for its customers. Launch of the Linea is first in the line of three launches that Fiat will undertake this year, the other two being Bravo and Grande Punto. With this car which is equipped with Fiat’s world-renowned multijet and the fire engine we hope to make inroads in the C+ segment. We have also ensured that the Linea appeals to a wide range of customers with its petrol and diesel variants and the various options available under each of them. The car has met with strong success across the world and although Linea has been designed with a strong Italian style, we have also taken into consideration local Indian taste and requirements and have incorporated this into the Indian Linea. ”

The FIRE (Fully Integrated Robotized Engine) will power the petrol version of the Linea, and the diesel version will be equipped with the Advanced New Generation MULTIJET engine. This sedan stands out in terms of original style, functionality and drivability, in addition to offering a very competitive price/content ratio. To begin with, the car will be retailed through a select 70 Tata-Fiat dealer outlets spread across the country.

The new generation multijet engine also boasts of higher peak performance with unparalleled power and torque outputs. This enables a fine balance of performance, refinement & fuel economy. Both the variants will be further supported with two option packs, one each on petrol & diesel top end variants mainly comprising of Dual Front Airbags and Blue & Me feature as standard. Blue & Me is the voice interactive device developed by Fiat along with Microsoft that offers an additional voice interface for the on board music system and can be linked to a personal mobile for communicating through the car’s audio unit & speakers.

The car will be manufactured at the Ranjangaon plant near Pune and is the first major launch after the company introduced the Palio Stile Multijet last year. The car is being launched across India through an aggressive communication campaign through Print & Television.

The three basic versions would be known as Active, Dynamic & Emotion with similar set of features for both variants. The Linea will be available in 4 colors at the time of the launch, Flamenco Red, Minimal Grey, Perla Champagne and Hip Hop Black.

The car will be competitively priced at:

The Tata-Fiat dealer network will ensure easy availability of the car and satisfactory after-sales service for its owners. The car will be retailed by Tata-Fiat dealer network providing 100 sales outlets & workshop across the country by mid-2009. Eventually, this number will be more than 125 by year end, which will provide an even stronger geographical reach for the car.

Style:

Fiat Linea bears a strong European character with an Italian lineage. Certain visible design cues like the long sloping hood merging into a protruding front grill, escorted by prominent yet stylish headlamps are normally seen only in high end sports cars. The exceptional design expertise offers Fiat Linea the most stylish exteriors that make it compete with the cars from the higher segment for being the best-looking set of wheels.

Comfort & Safety:

The great design capabilities go beyond the impressive exteriors and equip the car with a luxurious cabin designed to offer maximum comfort for the front & rear passengers. Comfortable seating with ample amount of legroom, rear hat trey with collapsible sunscreen & exclusive features like the rear knee level & foot level AC vents are some design features that makes the car an object of desire. Further, the emotion variant comes with safety features including ABS with EBD and Dual front airbags with pretensioners & load limiters on front seatbelts.

Engineering:

Fiat has had a long tradition of engineering variety of cars for all diverse automotive needs. Beginning from most popular city cars like the Uno and the Palio, to the high end sports cars like Maserati, Alfa Romeo and the professional racing champion like Ferrari, Fiat has made it all. At Fiat, we engineer the cars to meet customer expectations. With the same thought Fiat is bringing to India two of its most successful engine – 1.4 16V FIRE petrol engine & the 1.3 16V Advanced Multijet diesel. The fiat power-train manufacturing facility in Ranjangaon is at par with the best of the plants fiat has globally. With an installed capacity of over 200,000 engines & 300,000 cars it is a state of the art manufacturing facility adhering to international standards of production of cars & engines.

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.