Fiat may roll out ‘Idea’ from Ranjagaon (Near Pune)

[greatDrive]

Fiat India may roll out its latest ‘Idea’ from its idle Ranjagaon plant near Pune, following positive negotiations with the state government.
Paolo Castagna, managing director, Fiat India told TOI, “We are weighing the possibility of making the ‘Idea’ or the ‘Punto’ at the Ranjangaon plant. Talks with the state government about the advantages of rolling out this small car project from Ranjangaon are on. A final decision is awaited.’’
Declining sales have led the Italian carmaker’s Indian operations into troubled waters, The company is now hoping for a turnaround through launch of new models in the premium hatchback segment, where Fiat already has presence in its flagship model — Palio, which registered sales of just 800 units in this calendar year.
Explaining the rationale behind favouring manufacture at Ranjangaon, Castagna said, “The new car is built on a different platform and therefore requires a completely new assembly line and paint shop. Even if we decided to make this car at the Kurla plant, it would require a similar investment. Besides, there are several benefits to make the new car from Ranjangaon. Apart from octroi benefits, there will be direct cost benefits due to the proximity of component manufacturers in and around the area.’’
The Ranjangaon plant already has a ready building and requisite facilities. “Fiat has already made a major investment in terms of land and building at Ranjangaon. Now, the only thing required to start the plant is machinery and tools, which will not entail a huge investment,’’ Castagna said.


http://epaperdaily.timesofindia.com/...=1121765194671

[EVO6]

Well thats exactly where the MD is going wrong ... Tooling and machinery would be more expensive than land and building ... I see the plant everyday and it almost like a barren property ... Infact HMSL was thinking of taking over that property ...
The problem is that they compare prices of land in Italy with that of India and thats why they think its the other way round .. Anyways if he is so sure then the plant is lying dead since 4 years ... why didnt they do anything there before if they had the benefit mentioned below ... The same benefits were there even 4 years back ...
EASIER SAID THAN DONE !!!!!!!!!!!

[sandeepmdas]

I fully agree with you EVO6...

Instead of launching a new car, launching the current euro version of Palio would have been a more practical approach. Approx 80 % of the parts bin could have been re-utilized. The existing Palio owners wouldn’t have been left high and dry, either.

[RX135]

Originally Posted by sandeepmdas

Instead of launching a new car, launching the current euro version of Palio would have been a more practical approach. Approx 80 % of the parts bin could have been re-utilized. The existing Palio owners wouldn’t have been left high and dry, either.

Surprised to read this. Most people, including enthusiasts, are rather complaining about have same model in all categories (Palio/Petra/Adventure). I personally feel that there is always some hype surrounding any new model, be it Getz, Fusion or Swift. Fiat India desperately needs facelift, and it can not be achieved by launching only new variants of same car i.e. Palio.

Evo, I don't think Fiat India had a clear vision since past few years. It remains to be seen if the new chief can pull off any new tricks, but at least he is making right kind of noise.

[Rtech]

Talking about the actual product itself i.e. the Idea; is it really a wise decision by Fiat to enter the large hatchback segment when an established players like Hyundai and Ford are finding it hard to shift their premium hatch's.

How open would the market be to spending 6 lakhs on a hatchback, and that too from FIAT?

[deepakhon]

Idea with a diesel engine would be fine I guess. But, as rtech has mentioned, the market for that segment is not doing fine now. The best thing they can do in such a scenerio is that they can position idea as a "big" punto and sell both, aka palio and adventure.

[RX135]

Fiat is known to be good at small cars. If Idea comes with JTD, which is both efficient and performer, it might turn out to be a winner. NHC is expensive, but it swept the market primarily with its "ultra-fuel efficient" tag. But again lot depends on how cleverly they position it in market, its pricing and obviously sales+A/S/S combo. GTX was a great car, but came in ahead of its time. Hopefully, Idea will not be a repeat telecast of GTX (that is, if it is launched in first place).

[johnjacob]

Originally Posted by sandeepmdas

Instead of launching a new car, launching the current euro version of Palio would have been a more practical approach.

Was the Palio ever sold in Europe? I thought the Palio was supposed to be Fiat's "WORLD CAR" - ie, car for developing markets. I have seen a couple of old-style Palio Weekend's (the estate model) in France, not sure if they were driven from Eastern Europe, though.

The new Palio is sold in Brazil and South Africa (both left-hand drive markets). It has contemporary interiors that are much better than the Indian-model Palio. The exteriors are also restyled, however in my opinion the Indian-model Palio looks better.

[shuvc]

another aspect where the MD needs to focus on is getting on the good books of the auto journos
e.g. OD said the NHC gives 19kmpl avg (city + highway) ..

They need someone to give similar 'feedback' regarding, say the Fiat Idea FE and/or their improved A.S.S .. etc ...

IMO, a huge exercise in branding is required .. they have the products .. their price is competitive .. they just need proper marketing ..

[johnjacob]

I didn't want to start another Fiat thread, but I am sure the following article would provide even more ammunition for outspoken Fiat fans.

Economic Times Article

Who created this technology?

Fiat pioneered research and development of common rail direct injection diesel engine or the CRDi.

The Fiat Group set the record of producing large-scale CRDi engines hauling in efficient combustion among diesel engine cars for the first time. With this development followed better performance and lower fuel consumption.

Just one problem stuck out, the engine was still noisy at low speeds and in ‘speed transients’. The search then continued for developing direct injection systems that could drastically reduce noisy combustion.

Engineers found that to eliminate noise, engines had to be either isolated to prevent sound waves from spreading, or to develop an injection system that eliminated noise from the source.

Fiat engineers adopted the second option and focused on the common rail principle by developing a hydraulic accumulator or “rail” that can provide reserve pressurised fuel that is ready for use.

In 1994, Fiat Auto collaborated with Robert Bosch to enhance and complete injection systems for diesel engines. Among the current crop of vehicles using CRDi technology are Hyundai, Toyota, Isuzu, Kia, BMW, Mercedez Benz and Nissan.

Worldwide, Bosch is the largest player in CRDi with over 75 per cent of the market, followed by Siemens VDO, Delphi (Lucas) and Denso.

[RX135]

Originally Posted by johnjacob

I didn't want to start another Fiat thread, but I am sure the following article would provide even more ammunition for outspoken Fiat fans.

That is nice to know, but what good is it for us, if they are not using their pioneering efforts in indian models? CRDi, though developed by Fiat, was brought in India by Hyundai for the first time. Similarly, JTD might be first seen on Maruti cars than on Fiat. If Fiat has the technology, they better leverage it in market.

[devarshi84]

Originally Posted by johnjacob

Was the Palio ever sold in Europe? I thought the Palio was supposed to be Fiat's "WORLD CAR" - ie, car for developing markets. I have seen a couple of old-style Palio Weekend's (the estate model) in France, not sure if they were driven from Eastern Europe, though.

The new Palio is sold in Brazil and South Africa (both left-hand drive markets). It has contemporary interiors that are much better than the Indian-model Palio. The exteriors are also restyled, however in my opinion the Indian-model Palio looks better.

palio is not supposed to be a world car. Its the platform A178 that is a world platform.


Panda will certainly work for fiat as they can price it competitively against maruti and Hyundai. Fiat has a good car in its hands but their reputation has things going agianst them. I believe roping in some star with aggresive marketing strategies and improving the dealerships will help fiat rise in the ranks quickly.

palio and lancer are going the same way. both sold well once. Both are old now. Both companies are facing some problems.

lancer cedia is coming . now give us alfa romeo 156gta

[Conan]

I think the palio will be repositioned alongside santro/wagonr.
And Idea will be pitted against the likes of getz/swift/sail etc.
I dont see the GTX being reborn in the near future.
Also by launching their website, their sales should improve by atleast 50%, month on month.

Conan

[johnjacob]

Originally Posted by Conan

And Idea will be pitted against the likes of getz/swift/sail etc.

It would be great if they could achieve that, but I don't think it is realistically possible, especially at their low volumes. A more likely positioning would be against the NHC.

Also by launching their website, their sales should improve by atleast 50%, month on month.

LOL, yeah, their sales would jump to 30 cars a month from 20!

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by johnjacob

LOL, yeah, their sales would jump to 30 cars a month from 20!

and then 45 , 68 , 101 , 150 , 227 ... they'll hit 1700 odd cars by the 12th month !!
2 lakh plus cars by the end of the 24th