[dipen]

This thread is more for the Fiat strategy and my point in more on the lines of whether their strategy will pay off or not. The only way to judge a strategy's success is if that will bring any kind of sustainable volume sales. Unfortunately none of Fiat's strategies seem to be focussed in that direction.

One has to really intropect the non-success of Punto as a car and an opputunity that could have had Fiat laugh all the way to the bank. It had everything that one could ask for. A frugal proven diesel mill, excellant looks, superior comfort and grip levels, reasonably spacious and definately better than the market leader Swift. But still it could not even capture 10% of the Swift's market. Just a not so great but still okish gearbox.

Unfortunately, whether we like it or not; the market is run by masses and not fans. A car company definately needs masses to generate wealth.

Personally having driven the 1.2 and 1.6 Palio on countless occasions, it always brought a smile even in its 1.2 guise. But would I have bought it would always remain questionable. A successful car appeals both to the heart and the mind. In Fiat's case its mostly the heart only.

[jassi_jeeper]

I wonder about one thing, will Fiat be happy with Mahindra making the Bolero and the Thar? will they not want to have exclusivity of the classic Jeep looks? Or worse, will they try to stop Mahindra continue with the the classic Jeep looks? i hope and pray we Indians continue to get 'inexpensive Mahindar Jeep'. I am a Thar owner myself and cant imagine living without a'Jeep'. Sometimes I sit and wonder, what Pakistanis, who have a similar lifestyle like us Indians feel when they see us enjoying 'Mahindra Jeep' and Royal Enfields!

[PPS]

Driven by Autocar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BozDcW6tlKk

[julupani]

I think the prospects of the Grand Cherokee are very good. In a country which is obsessed with the agressive looks of an SUV and obsessed with chrome on their cars, I think the Grand Cherokee will strike a neat and sweet sounding chord with the Indian car buyer. And unbelievably, even though I hate a chrome overload, the Grand Cherokee seems to carry all the chrome with charm. Even those crazy 20-inch chrome wheels seem to belong to the car. I think many people will also like the button overloaded large steering wheel, as well as the huge tablet sized touch screen in the middle.

The Wrangler twins on the other hand will have a tough time finding buyers, thanks to their rather old school utilitarian interiors and ancient suspension setup. They are just too off-road oriented for the common buyer. But the Wrangler will be ideal for the rich off-roading enthusiast, who didnt have much to look toward other than the Thar.

[amit]

I saw 2 Grand Cherokee's and 1 Wrangler 5 door in Vashi on Friday. All had MH-12 number plates and were not camouflaged. The Grand Cherokee looks like a car that Indians will love to buy. It's big, has that SUV looks, feel and attitude and will seemingly come loaded too. Of course, price is still not out but I think with the 3.0 V6 diesel it should be priced along with the Mercedes M class 250 CDI. Anything more and it may struggle against the brand pull of the Merc & Audi. ACI seems to think it should be priced about 70 lakhs though, maybe the dollar has played havoc with their pricing strategy in the past few months.

[sinharishi]

Cyrus Dhabhar,Zigwheels tweet:

Mumbai to get 8 FIAT dealers and 8 FIAT workshop by mid-next year. Abarth very much in line to come soon.

[volkman10]

FIAT Linea facelift coming next year - To be show cased in the Auto Expo.

The new Linea will come with a restyled front grille, re-profiled bumper, new fog lamp clusters and lots of chrome. At the rear, the bumper gets minor tweaks with an additional chrome strip and the number plate has now moved on to the bootlid. The side profile looks identical to the current car though.

The updated Linea’s cabin will get a new three-layered, two-tone dash that looks refreshing and feels more upmarket. The steering wheel is similar to the current car, but now comes with a touch of silver and the centre console gets a new integrated audio system and more modern-looking AC vents with useful cubbyholes above them. The gear lever, climate control knobs and door pads, however, look similar to the current car. The instrument cluster will now come with chrome-ringed recessed dials and circular centre.

Fiat will also launch the Abarth model range in India next year.


Source:ACI

[Kanasu]

Any idea about the new Punto ? Will it also be revealed at the Auto Expo or it'll be just a refurbished one this year ?

[julupani]

Originally Posted by Kanasu

Any idea about the new Punto ? Will it also be revealed at the Auto Expo or it'll be just a refurbished one this year ?

I think the Punto will take a bit more time. If I remember correctly their product introduction timeline showed new Punto only in 2nd half of 2014, so I guess that will be a late September or October launch.

Though they may showcase one at the Auto Expo.

[prithwi-81]

From the sound of it 2014 will be an exciting time for Fiat fans. Its so stupid that they couldnt release the Abarth punto or even a TJet Punto alongside the GT TSI. I mean how long does it take!!

[Ohh!Oxygen]

Nice to see all these big boys rolling into India. However looking at current state of things with Fiat India, I doubt how much of love Indian buyers will show to these beauties.

I feel Fiat will have a hard time selling these due to their brand image. Looking at the how they have positioned themselves in India market, I doubt if people will buy a 10L+ car from Fiat. With the recent price cuts on Punto and Linea trying to do a catch up game with Hyundai/Maruti is not helping things.

I would say Cherokee and Wrangler are decent models and positioning/pricing them rightly can help things.
But before that, Fiat should start doing some good brand building exercise. The only Fiat ads I see on paper are cheap price cut ads. :(

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by prithwi-81

From the sound of it 2014 will be an exciting time for Fiat fans. Its so stupid that they couldnt release the Abarth punto or even a TJet Punto alongside the GT TSI. I mean how long does it take!!

+1. The Punto has almost everything ready to have the Tjet plonked in it. Fiat could have launched the Punto Tjet to keep the interest in it going until the facelift comes in. Moreover with huge waiting period for the Polo TSI, they could have a garnered a few numbers. After all a Punto with the Tjet, stiffer suspension and all round disc brakes would not have been a bad car after all.

All said and done, getting the 90 HP Punto itself took a long long time, Do I see it as an opportunity lost for Fiat, you bet!

[Biraj]

Just saw the new Fiat TVC on their FB page.

Quite interesting It's shot inside a Maruti Swift/Dzire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgmwT...ature=youtu.be

[KiloAlpha]

So, when the Punto T-jet is launched, is it going to spawn a million drag races on our streets with the Polo GT-TSI?I sure hope so.

I am thinking of all those RX100 Vs Shogun races that used to happen in the 90's ...

[Kanasu]

Fiat has yet again launched Absolute editions of the Punto and Linea in the Indian market. The Absolute edition Linea and Punto sport accessories not found on the regular variants and these are offered to the customers at no additional cost. The move is basically aimed at luring customers by giving them free accessories as part of the vehicle purchase. In essence, Fiat is using this tactics as a temporary move to buy time till the truly facelifted models are launched.

The Absolute edition gets features like touchscreen GPS navigator with a 3G tablet (1.0-GHz processor running Android 2.3 OS) and smart phone functionality. It is equipped with house-level 3D maps and features like phone functionality, Bluetooth and multimedia connectivity. Other accessories include reverse parking sensors, contoured splash guards, carpets, boot chrome strip, Linea and Punto branded door sills and "Absolute" exterior badging.

Apart from the accessories, the company is also providing free road side assistance and free exchange bonus. The festive accessory pack installed on every car is worth Rs 25,000/- while the customers can avail a maximum benefit of up to Rs. 70,000/- on the Linea and up to Rs. 60,000/- on the Punto. Existing customers can avail the same offer by paying Rs. 25,000/-. Fiat needs to sell volumes and considering the slow down in the automotive market, this is probably a move which might just work.

Source

Hope at least this will drive the sales till the Auto Expo