[S.MJet]

While Honda is sacrificing profits for market share, Fiat India has quietly entered the profit zone.

High diesel engine demand & exports to China drives Fiat into profits.

Its manufacturing JV with Tata has made profit of Rs 269Cr for six months ending March 2013

They will be using Ranjangoan plant for manufacturing & assembly of new products lined up for launch.

Source: ET
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/27147982.cms

[Joe M]

This definitely is a good sign. If they would see this as a positive and give the Indian market the seriousness it deserves, they can make profit in volumes. They have some brilliant cars we all have been eagerly waiting for! If they could bring some of their best sellers(like the Dodge Dart, etc) I think they can make good profit.

Fiat is one brand I love, and every time I hear about their cars not selling well, I used to fear they may decide to withdraw major operations from here or hesitate to launch new models here. But this indeed is a ray of hope!

[wilful]

Originally Posted by Joe M

This definitely is a good sign. If they would see this as a positive and give the Indian market the seriousness it deserves, they can make profit in volumes. They have some brilliant cars we all have been eagerly waiting for! If they could bring some of their best sellers(like the Dodge Dart, etc) I think they can make good profit.

Fiat is one brand I love, and every time I hear about their cars not selling well, I used to fear they may decide to withdraw major operations from here or hesitate to launch new models here. But this indeed is a ray of hope!

Absolutely! Maybe also introduce a diesel AT Punto and be the first diesel AT hatch in the Indian market.
And if they could go about improving their service end as well with the same intensity, the Indian car lover would be hugely benefitted.

[ak916]

Great news. Fiat deserves to be handled better. I hope they "dudho nahavo puto phalo".

And they should get a turbo AT Punto and Linea. That would be yummy too, besides ofcourse a AT diesel hatch.

[ghodlur]

Although the news brought a faint smile on my face, I was disheartened to know that Fiat still is depending on the sales of the Fiat engines esp the MJD for its presence in India. What I would love to see is Fiat giving equally or more focus on its own products/models in the present automobile scenario. Why should they be content with just selling the engines to other manufacturers who make fatter profits, rather introduce good models, improve customer satisfaction for Fiat products.

[scofield]

Fantastic news to read and start the day. Considering the current scenario of what Indian Automobile Industry is going through, to get green account books is a commendable and noteworthy. Specially, as FIAT India had to pay around 400 crores for the excise fine levied by Supreme Court.

Agree that most of the profits have come from the engine sale but getting into profits builds confidence among the investors (primarily FIAT Italy) and they would be more aggresive towards profit making regions.

FIAT has been working already on getting the individual dealerships in place and they are already near the 100 mark.

Their 2013 target was to open around 100 dealerships. Collaterals given by new dealers in India would have also made a contribution in the earnings of the company.Accoding to me that target is well acheived as the sales have improved from around 400 to 1K+ for last few months.

More dealerships --> More Awareness of new FIAT --> More Footfalls and inquiries --> More sales.

2014 is actually the make or break area for FIAT, they have done the ground work for going individual and in profits too, now the baton is in their future products and specially keeping a good standard in A.S.S accross India - which they lack big time.

We have read many such incidents of incompetent A.S.S which is taking the charm of owning a FIAT and killing a customer once and for all.

Excited to see the 2014 events from FIAT.

[theMAG]

Certainly good news, however, it is disheartening to see the profits arise exclusively from their engines rather than their cars - although this is not surprising.

[DieselFan]

Originally Posted by theMAG

Certainly good news, however, it is disheartening to see the profits arise exclusively from their engines rather than their cars - although this is not surprising.

Yes their cars division is under loss. It may so happen that we may see FIAT only selling engines in Indian market if the loss due to cars division piles up.

[Car-riedAway]

Originally Posted by DieselFan

Yes their cars division is under loss.

Is this confirmed news> I believe that they have generated a lot of interest now with their discount schemes and I have seen many people considering FIATs now. With the new exclusive FIAT service setup, I believe that the things and sales are improving

[mints21]

Apart from opening new dealerships, Fiat India needs to concentrate on the After Sales Service, as well as instant availability of spare parts at its existing dealership network .They may also consider opening authorized service centers at places where appointing a dealer is not feasible (in small towns). This will help boost customer confidence and the customers can be assured that they will get quick service in case of a breakdown at places with no dealer back up.

This will ensure that their balance sheet never touches the red line ever again.

[Car-riedAway]

Originally Posted by mints21

Apart from opening new dealerships, Fiat India needs to concentrate on the After Sales Service, as well as instant availability of spare parts at its existing dealership network .

The A.S.S. is improving for sure, recently my Linea had an accident wherein driver side door was damaged, upon FIAT's advise I took my car to Kashyap Motors in Okhla. The experience there was a good one, contrary to what I have faced with TATA/FIAT joint A.S.S.. The part, i.e. the door was received within 3-4 days of ordering. Quite prompt as per previous standards. The workmanship was also good and the treatment miles above expectation (I am comparing this with what we were accustomed to while visiting the joint venture A.S.S). They are improving for sure, just hope that they do it fast because such a brilliant car was getting maligned just becuase of poor after sales.

[HammerHead]

Originally Posted by Car-riedAway

Is this confirmed news> I believe that they have generated a lot of interest now with their discount schemes and I have seen many people considering FIATs now. With the new exclusive FIAT service setup, I believe that the things and sales are improving

Confirmed? Don't you visit Indian Car Sales Figures & Analysis thread

[Car-riedAway]

Just saw it but was unable to decipher how they are into loss, these are only sales figures Agreed they could be under loss but I believe that now they are on road to recovery.

[GrammarNazi]

Finally glad to see the national engine maker come out of the RED.

I read new batches are niggle-free and FIAT seems to be picking the fancy of quite a few (as proved by the sales numbers). By Q4 (March, 2014) they'll have done better. The coming year is going to see new launches, hope they find it viable to bring in the 1.6mjd for us!

[KPS]

Please note from the article

ET learns that post the organisational restructuring in FY-12, wherein Fiat separated the manufacturing company from the marketing company and wrote off losses of about Rs 300 crore in Fiat India, the company posted a profit of Rs 269 crore in the six months ending March of 2013.

The profits are from manufacturing company only. They could still be in the red with the marketing company. Will they cross subsidize is a big question. I do not think it is possible because the manufacturing company is a JV with Tata.

Marketing company could still struggle with low retail sales


Cheers

KPS