[prakash_ajp]

Originally Posted by vroomsome

saying and executing are two different things. its been what 4 years since they launched the Linea and punto? these arent really bad products. what are the sales like? do you think the a.s.s has nothing to do with the sales? for Fiat, its a second innings fiasco in India, and a large part can be attributed to the a.s.s or the lack thereof. Fiat India has no clue. now if somehow Fiat manages to bring these cars and not let the customers know of the Fiat association, they might have a chance.

It looks like you just woke up after 3 years in hibernation and decided to make some comment without bothering to checkout what the world outside is like. I have seen many discussion topics here where many Fiat owners have vouched for improved A.S.S. I am not denying that Fiat is not-so-famous among people outside. But being on this forum, I would expect the members to have differentiated between a perception and reality. It's almost become a cliche now, hasn't it?

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by vroomsome

very Ouroboros of you. why are you taking this personal. Fiat India has no clue and their sales numbers reflect that. and you my friend are a fanboy.

Sorry, but nothing personal in my post as well! I am putting my views in place with respect to your points. Now if you could find logic for below questions,

1. Why do you think Fiat is breaking up the JV with TATA?

2. Why do you think they are setting up individual dealerships & A$$?

3. Why do you think they have announced their road map for next 5 years?

4. Why do you think they are bringing in Jeep & Wrangler brands to India?

They probably didn't have a clue two years back, but they very well have it now! But does that mean they will have a stunning sales figures for the next one year? Highly unlikely I would say. I dont see volumes climbing atleast for the next 2 years - and I am being realistic. They should start gaining sales from 2014 (hopefully).

Between, I am not a fan boy, but call a spade, a spade. Do I hate Fiat? Yes & No as well! I like certain aspects (ride & handling, steering feedback etc) & hate some bits (interiors, ergonomics). Will I buy a Fiat? If I feel the car makes me happy, I will (the current line up do NOT)!

Been on the forum for long, I can guarantee @StarrySky is NOT a fan boy of any brands! And trust me, he has written exactly what I wanted to pen down too. NOTHING PERSONAL, just the counter view on your points.

On a lighter note: give it sometime, the real fan boys should be on their way!! :-D

[BlackRaven]

Originally Posted by rock75

There is no competition, IMO, between Thar and wrangler, PERIOD. How can there be, a person with budget of 6-7 lacs can never buy a Rs 20 lacs+ offroader when he can get a decent one in his budget.

Mahindra can safely ignore this launch as they face no competition in sub 10 lac category for THAR.

there is another way to see it. a person who wants a jeep and has unlimited budget had till date no choice except Thar. Now he has the original Jeep wrangler coming in.

And I don't think Mahindra would want to dismiss Jeep. They build a lot of Brand with Thar and Mahindra Adventure camps. If they loose out big by not upgrading Thar to reasonable level, people would stop buying it. and that in no way will help their brand.

I think Wrangler coming to India is a good win for customers as well.

[an_and]

Being a passionate FIAT owner myself, I fail to see how talking about a strategy for 2014 is even going to help Fiat. I think it was the Hindustan Times that said that Chrysler will launch something between 8-15 lakhs. Well its too far-fetched.

It would have greatly helped if Fiat had spoken something about 2013, but 2014 seems to be in dreams for me. One thing is certain, with the way their sales are going, until and unless they do something remarkable in terms of new products - maybe by 2014 - they will be R(ing)-I-P!

Sadly they make great cars but dont have a clue about after sales. Though I still cherish my 2003 Palio, and still nurture it, I have moved on to Toyota for my daily commute.

Lets wait and watch!

[RevvMusic]

A general observation. Come forth a FIAT thread, and every single person seems to become the next gen marketing & management experts.

FIAT attempts something good, it is bashed. FIAT doesn't attempt something good, it is bashed.

[MaddyCrew]

Originally Posted by viper_711

While I agree with you that their senior brass let them down, the statement above needs to be checked! Neither the Punto nor the Linea were absolutely new cars. They were already being sold in many countries. What is so advanced about them vis-a-vis other cars being sold here? What is it that they offer that the competition does not?

You are absolutely right in saying that my statement applies only to FIAT’s first innings in India – with the Uno and the Palio. I guess the FIAT fan in me caused that slip up. I stand corrected.

It was not about them being brand new cars. Neither the Uno nor the Palio were brand new cars at the time of India launch. Let me clarify what I was trying to say.

I have always felt that at the time of their respective launches, the Punto and the Linea were the best handling cars in their respective segments. I do admit that the interior quality was not upto the mark and maybe FIAT should have crammed in a bit more space for the rear seat folks. Such minor issues aside, those two cars are, IMHO, an enthusiast’s dream come true. More than those issues, I guess it is the shoddy service and the brain-dead company bosses who ensured that the general car buying public chose to stay away.

I own a Palio Sport myself and have got a close friend who owns a Punto Sport and a Linea T-Jet. Everytime I drive my car or my friend’s cars, I tend to forget all the above issues and end up having a wide grin on my face. I can still state confidently state that they come with the best ride-handling package in sub 10 lakh INR segment. I’m sure there will be quite a lot of us bhp-ians who will seriously consider the T-Jet or the Punto Sport if FIAT had been a bit more careful in dealing with the above issues – well before they got bad-mouthed for it!!

Peace!!

[aqualeo2040]

There's one area which I see that the plan didnt include.

Its the 300C.
Going by the Indian love for bling, that one surely is up there.

It will probably come up in the 3 Series bracket. That sector does have some promise

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by RevvMusic

A general observation. Come forth a FIAT thread, and every single person seems to become the next gen marketing & management experts.

FIAT attempts something good, it is bashed. FIAT doesn't attempt something good, it is bashed.

Very true !

But looking at Fiat's revealed target of 5% market share by 2016, with the plan that they have, it looks pretty ambitious.

Came across this interesting article - Link

Like what is mentioned, Fiat/Chrysler will need to sell 180,000 cars in 2016 to have ~5% share in the market and there are no mass market cars that are in the pipeline. Probably if the Alto competitor works, they have a chance.

Two models that could have been planned for India are the Panda & the Viaggio. The Panda I think holds serious potential in the Indian market with all the versatility it offers. The 4x4 version would have also stood out as a differentiator.

[vroomsome]

Originally Posted by prakash_ajp

It looks like you just woke up after 3 years in hibernation and decided to make some comment without bothering to checkout what the world outside is like. I have seen many discussion topics here where many Fiat owners have vouched for improved A.S.S. I am not denying that Fiat is not-so-famous among people outside. But being on this forum, I would expect the members to have differentiated between a perception and reality. It's almost become a cliche now, hasn't it?

I am a Fiat owner with first hand Fiat a.s.s experience. improved a.s.s? not the only one. seems like a recurring theme with Fiat. you see the paradox of your post? seems like you have been hibernating.

[Arkesh]

Originally Posted by RevvMusic

A general observation. Come forth a FIAT thread, and every single person seems to become the next gen marketing & management experts.

FIAT attempts something good, it is bashed. FIAT doesn't attempt something good, it is bashed.

You are bang on with that post.
FIAT is the most Bashed brand in India. Starting from a kid to grandpas all have something to say about FIATS and most of them are pretty concerned about dismal sales in India. At least it has so many shoulders to cry over due to the n number of failures in India. That shows the brand awareness among all.
Future plans of Fiat looks quite promising but again its has a great history of spoiling sales of some of the great products. Its quite a matter of concern for all Fiat fans as to how they act this time.

[Blow Horn Ok]

I believe any enthusiast would love to see fiat remain and prosper, continue bringing in beautiful and solid cars which are pleasure to drive! They plan to bring new products and open up exclusive dealerships and service centers which are promising and a step in a right direction.

I believe no time is too late or too early. The only requirement is a perfectly balanced product. It requires a product which could turn its fortune as the figo did for ford and the duster did for renault. Ford had a bad track record of costly maintenance and Renault was a lesser known brand due to wafer thin dealer network and not so popular cars. Now, Fiat needs to pull out its trump card.

[skm1967]

I think Fiat is making some serious and sincere efforts to turn around their fortunes in India. The pace at which their exclusive sales and service centres are planned to come up in next few months point to a well thought out strategy and timely execution.

Jeep and Abarth will hopefully change the perception of Fiat even though sales of these brands may not be much. It will help drive up sales of Puntos, Lineas and other small cars that are introduced. The 5 year plan also instills confidence in prospective buyers as they would feel that they wouldn't be left high and dry.

[skm1967]

I think A** of Fiat is not as bad as it is made out to be. A few days back, the AC of my T-Jet stopped working. I called up A** and requested them to pick up the car. They did so and delivered it back after 2 days, problem resolved, cleaned car and zero bill. Though the problem was minor, basically seals and gaskets, the prompt service is something worth appreciation.

[shashank.nk]

Along with this 5 year plan,I hope they also make a similar long term plan to change the negative perception about the brand which I feel is the biggest challenge.

Their products have always been good,no deal-breakers I can think off except the sub par service and the brand itself.

I hope they are successful this time around!

[skm1967]

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

Along with this 5 year plan,I hope they also make a similar long term plan to change the negative perception about the brand which I feel is the biggest challenge.

Their products have always been good,no deal-breakers I can think off except the sub par service and the brand itself.

I hope they are successful this time around!

Dear Shashank,

To introduce Grand Cherokee and Wrangler via CBU route can only be a brand building exercise than a real attempt at increasing sales turnover. They should have otherwise planned to manufacture or at least taken CKD route. Aim seems to be to dissuade people from associating Fiat with Premier Padminis and rather associate with premier brands.

So they may be making good care of two problem areas, brand image and A**. If they take care of marketing too with some inspired campaigns they will be well placed to take a good pie of the cake as they have good products as you said. Imagine something like Schumacher ad for T-Jet in India!