[Nimish anthony]

Mohandas Fiat is confirmed to be closing down and notice has been given to fiat regarding their closure. All their service vehicles and Test drive vehicles are also being sold. So thats left with no more dealers in the capital city of Kerala. Its rumored that the Nexa showroom will be operating in the same space of closed fiat dealer. Dwindling sales and lack of new products are the main cause cited for the closure of one of the largest fiat showrooms in Kerala.

[VRPAI]

Sad to see another Fiat dealership closing down. Kochi seems to be one of those few cities which has not one but two fiat dealerships.

Fiat better wake up, else in a few years I think they will have to shut shops or they will need to open their own showrooms which are run by Fiat.
Selling just two products which are a decade old and still thinking they would survive is asking way too much if you ask me. Heck even Skodas strategy seems better than fiat. At least they have a newish product in the Octavia. If they continue with this idiotic strategy of their's, I wonder if they'll be present in India in the next 5 years. Sad to see this though as Fiat's have always been very very involving to drive. Hope things change for the better for the company, the car manufacturing company to be more specific .

Just my two cents.

Originally Posted by Nimish anthony

All their service vehicles and Test drive vehicles are also being sold.

Do they have a Abarth or Tjet up for sale?

Thanks in advance.


Note from Support: Please run a spell-check before you post. Thanks!

[vickyP]

This is really a sorry state of affairs. No wonder their products are great but are few and far between. Unfortunately, even though most of us would swear on a T-JET or an Abarth, the sales numbers really don't reflect the same.

[vpillai]

Originally Posted by VRPAI

Do they have a Abarth or Tjet up for sale?

They had a black abarth punto as display vehicle and a white one as test drive vehicle. Not sure if they are sold.

[The Observer]

This is sad to see, wonder how the other FIAT dealers are surviving? Fiat claims to have 100+ dealers across India , but manages monthly sales of 600 - 700 odd cars, that is around 6-7 cars a month per dealer ( just a simple average)

Looking at the sales numbers it is tough to imagine how the FIAT dealers are surviving? I mean with these dismal numbers - is it even possible to run a showroom, pay for all the staff, rent etc?

Or are most FIAT dealers erstwhile Tata dealers, so they have both Tata as well as Fiat dealerships ( like KHT in Bangalore) and hence at least one ( Tata) is profitable while they hang on to the other for some reason?

C'mon FIAT - DO something - your cars are good but your sales, product and marketing strategies are confounding to say the least.

Courtesy : Image snapped from Team BHP Jan 2016 sales figures thread:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-analysis.html

@ Nimish Anthony : I assume you meant Trivandrum instead of Kochi in the headline of your thread?

[anand.shankar]

I dont understand the logic here, usually everywhere you hear that the Showrooms hardly make any money from new car sales, most of the margins for the dealers come via the service centers. If that's how it works, most FCA service centers have enough cars that they actually delay delivery or deny taking in a car without appointment. The crowd seen at SVC centers is understandable considering there are hardly a few in operation. So where do they loose out in this ?

Edit : By the way is it Kochi or TVM ??

[rsidd]

Originally Posted by anand.shankar

I dont understand the logic here, usually everywhere you hear that the Showrooms hardly make any money from new car sales, most of the margins for the dealers come via the service centers.

This. But if the sales are inadequate and the cars are too reliable, maybe it's not profitable either. Or maybe it is profitable but they figure Nexa would be more profitable.

Ramkay Fiat's service centre in Chennai is always full of cars (even before the floods). I can't believe they're not making significant money from that. But the service guy I chatted with last time also told me they sell 30-35 cars a month, which is not bad at all. Ramkay is an established dealer for TVS bikes, but this was their first foray into selling cars -- they must have done their homework before getting in.

[rajeev k]

Kochi had only Hyson and Pinnacle as the dealers for Fiat. Any idea where Mohandas' Fiat showroom is/was located in Kochi?
I have failed to notice one at Kochi.

[DicKy]

Mohandas motors is based in Thiruvananthapuram, so safe to guess that the Fiat dealer that has been closed is not in Kochi.

Maybe Mohandas found it more viable to concentrate on the Tata cars and maybe start a Nexa showroom too.

[vpillai]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

Kochi had only Hyson and Pinnacle as the dealers for Fiat. Any idea where Mohandas' Fiat showroom is/was located in Kochi?
I have not come across one anywhere in Kochi.

Mohandas Fiat was operating from Trivandrum. I had visited their showroom last month and till two weeks back I was getting call from the representative inquiring when I'm planning for the purchase. I just told her "I'm waiting for the AUTO EXPO '16 to see the new launches and to take a call". May be the expo was as depressing for them as for our fellow bhpians and they took the decision to leave Fiat and to partner with Maruthi. I do not blame them. But now where will we, car enthusiasts, go and buy a fiat from? This one was the biggest showroom in south Kerala, I guess. I have not seen the showrooms in Kochi. But the same reasons, for which Mohandas Fiat is shutting down, would be haunting the other dealerships as well.

In worst case, even if you have to close down all other dealerships, at least have one company operated showroom/service center in each state and keep them operational. So that we don't have to go to another state when we want to buy a Fiat.

[vinit.merchant]

Ironic for Fiat isn't it. By the time they will bring in the new cars, they would have a lost lot of dealerships in Tier III cities. So basically they will start from scratch when they bring the new cars, as far as dealerships and coverage is concerned.

Or maybe not. After all they may not need to start from scratch. Silently add a few features to the Punto Evo & Punto Pure and make a grand slam launch of bare bones Punto Evo Pure & Punto Purest after a couple of years. Who needs more dealers to sell them !!


EDIT: Maybe Fiat considers their dealers same as their customers. They think Dealers are fanboys. However small the fan base, they will stick around. Profit be damned !

[Sheel]

IMO, they should have continued with Tata *BUT* should have had a separate place for sales and separate bays for service.

Both of which would be controlled by Fiat.

[shivasuma]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

Ironic for Fiat isn't it. By the time they will bring in the new cars, they would have a lost lot of dealerships in Tier III cities. So basically they will start from scratch when they bring the new cars, as far as dealerships and coverage is concerned.

Or maybe not. After all they may not need to start from scratch. Silently add a few features to the Punto Evo & Punto Pure and make a grand slam launch of bare bones Punto Evo Pure & Punto Purest after a couple of years. Who needs more dealers to sell them !!


EDIT: Maybe Fiat considers their dealers same as their customers. They think Dealers are fanboys. However small the fan base, they will stick around. Profit be damned !

Fiat are making profit from selling engines to
Maruti & Tata, that's why they are complacent as a car maker. The day Maruti & Tata have their own engines, is (hopefully) the day that fiat will awake from their slumber. Until then they will be happy with being an engine supplier. God give some sense into fiat India management!

[The Dude]

AFAIK, Mohandas motors is in Trivandrum. Is there a Mohandas in Kochi too? The Trivandrum one is also closed. Well all good things come to an end as they say. Mohandas was the only acceptable A.S.S and now it's gone. Fiat owners... Rejoice!

[shortbread]

Originally Posted by Sheel

IMO, they should have continued with Tata *BUT* should have had a separate place for sales and separate bays for service.

Both of which would be controlled by Fiat.

Fully agree! All this hue and cry was happening as to why Fiat sales are struggling because of Tata showrooms never made sense. Fiat was never blessed with great After Sales Service since the late 90s. Especially in the south where the incumbent TVS continued since the Padmini days.

I think Fiat can still save itself by hitchhiking on Tata's sales and service network, but with a slight shift in strategy.

Fiat needs to focus on online marketing and sales backed by marketing booths all across the country. Stalls in shopping malls and other popular venues offering the touch an feel experience as well as test drives. Keep this rotational and have a couple of visits in every major districts.

Tata's network should be used for sales delivery and service. The dealers will be happy with the increased revenue. I know this is very offbeat but considering the present same-school approach of Fiat's isn't really setting the sales charts on fire, What do they have to lose.

Dealer's will be happy since they do not have to deal with showroom space, sales agents, vehicle inventories etc... Fiat can focus on customer experience online and back it up with their marketing booths.

It will not give them the sales presence of other majors, but Fiat should perhaps look at starting small and steady.