[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by nikhil0405

Fiat as a company will be driven by profits. As of now they see that in supplying engines and AMT. Selling cars surely does not seem priority to them.

Not for very long. Tata is already developing their own 1.5L Diesel, after which they would slowly stop getting the 1.3 MJD from them. Similar case at the Suzuki camp as well.

Like the vehicle plant, the engine plant too needs to pick up pace. Had they developed a reduced capacity 1.5L MJD based on their impressive 1.6 MJD, they could have retained interests of Tata and Suzuki, better still, managed improved sales of their own cars

[GTO]

Originally Posted by su1978

Stop supplying engines to Maruti. Or take them to court and tell them that Maruti Suzuki and Tata are not supposed to use their engines.

You must be kidding me. The engine business is 80% of their revenue. If the Fiat India CEO even suggests this, he'll not have a job the next morning.

Originally Posted by GTO

As expected, it's the engine business that's bringing in the $$$$.

Even if we take a back-of-the-envelope figure of 6.0 lakhs / cars invoice value (mix of Puntos & Lineas...again, rough figure), the turnover from selling cars is merely 700 crore (780 crore @ 6.5 lakh / car invoice value). That's less than 20% of their turnover.

Whatever way you look at it, ~3000 crores of that revenue is coming from engines (majorly), engine licencing fee (mainly Maruti), spare parts (small component) and other businesses.

Fiat India is an engine company first, then a car company. Honestly, it's a great USP to have. No other manufacturer can boast of 3,000 crores of revenue from engines! Of course, the biggest challenge is if Maruti develops their own diesel and stops using Fiat's motors. The Italians are really in trouble then. It will happen sooner or later.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Agreed. I doubt fresh products would help much either, but that is the only once chance they have!

The key thing for Fiat (and many others) is that they can't fight Maruti or Hyundai head on. They must look at areas where the two aren't present (e.g. Renault Duster) or offer a stupendous value proposition (e.g. Renault Kwid). If a relatively unknown 'Renault' can rake in the moolah, I don't see why anyone else couldn't.

Just give the market a product they can't refuse.

Originally Posted by rusticnomad

3. UC.

What on earth is UC! As SDP posted, please avoid using acronyms when referring to cars.

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

Not for very long. Tata is already developing their own 1.5L Diesel, after which they would slowly stop getting the 1.3 MJD from them. Similar case at the Suzuki camp as well.

Well said. They definitely can't depend on engine royalties forever. Maruti is known to fight tooth & nail for a buck. They aren't going to be paying crores in royalties for life. The 2-cylinder diesel they developed is a step in the direction of bigger diesels from Maruti-Suzuki.

[Superleggera]

I am not sure why fiat is not thinking of bringing an Innova beater to Indian market. They have the capability and expertise in the diesel engines..
If it is priced well and have Italian looks, am sure that there will be may takers.

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by i74js

Unless they change the white body, for every second person it is just a Punto which is now dated and old.
I personally appreciate FIAT products yet without any line-up of cars, increased dealership and improvement in after sales, their cars are not going anywhere. I can buy a - Pure, Punto, Aventura, Abarth and now Urban Cross.
With this car again they will have a problem in pricing, Linea with 125 bhp and Urban Cross hatch with 138 bhp; it will be dangerously close. The driving experience will be very similar as Linea is reasonably powerful, why should one buy a hatch if a sedan is available within the same price band, better leg room (rear), AC vents (rear), a big boot, cruse control, auto headlamp and rain sensor !
Also, just for information, the new AVN unit is based on blue & me or is this some Chinese stuff added by FIAT?
I went to Kashyap Fiat the other day and saw thisunit, there is just AVN and no rear camera for which one has to get the wiring done and drill a hole in bumper ! When will FIAT learn !

Well put! As you said, there are many of us who appreciate FIAT and its contemporary global products - which unfortunately dont see the light of day here. For FIAT, as for most of the other MNC auto players (Renault for one!) the Indian auto market is still a banana republic market, where they can dump their garbage without worrying about any kind of oversight. The luxury & exotic segment is way ahead - they bring their latest launches here (within months of their global launches), knowing well that their segment customers will not be taken in by dal-roti being served in the guise of caviar! It is this dal-roti segment which is usually at the recieving end of these market shenanigans.

[nikhil0405]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

Not for very long. Tata is already developing their own 1.5L Diesel, after which they would slowly stop getting the 1.3 MJD from them. Similar case at the Suzuki camp as well.

Sure they will. Precisely for that reason, I had mentioned "as of now" in my post.

It will take time for Tata and Suzuki diesel motors to be tested and introduced in the market. Also Fiat is bringing its 2L diesel engine shortly.

I agree that they should have brought the 1.6L/1.5L diesel to India . For now like GTO said, it is better that they create a new segment instead of introducing cars in crowded segments too late in the game. This should give the brand some recognition.

Fiats problems do not lie with just their cars. Many people still do not know that the Fiat brand still exists in India. Most of the people even do not consider their cars while selecting. A small bunch that do, have apprehensions about the after sales service and resale value.

Fiat India needs to get serious attention from its parent company to make substantial investments in India to not only introduce new cars but also support and grow dealerships, better after sales etc.

[RavenAvi]

Spotted during testing rounds for the very first time by an IAB reader.

[amtak]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Spotted during testing rounds for the very first time by an IAB reader.

Why are they even bothered to camouflage it? No one will be amused, to see a Punto with Chrome tooth! Some will think, that it's a dealer job!

[nkrishnap]

What on earth are they testing if they are using the already tested engines. This is not a new model by any chance and makes me perplexed. Either Fiat did not test it 100% earlier or there is something entirely new in this to test (which I highly doubt).

[Mad Max]

All said and done, just removing that crazy rear wheel mechanism itself should boost some sales!

I really wished that they'd bring the Aegea soon to India. Given they are now getting Jeep in here, I am sure Aegea is a lost cause for the moment, at least.

[DriveOnceMore]

No eye-lid type LED DRLs, as shown on car showcased during AutoExpo ??
Hope that only this test mule doesn't have it but final production car should have that.

Also let's hope that they are testing a new Gearbox.

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by Mad Max

All said and done, just removing that crazy rear wheel mechanism itself should boost some sales!

The Aventura without that wheel on the back is the Punto Evo right?

Originally Posted by DriveOnceMore

No eye-lid type LED DRLs, as shown on car showcased during AutoExpo ??
Hope that only this test mule doesn't have it but final production car should have that.

Also let's hope that they are testing a new Gearbox.

IIRC, even the Avventura concept was shown with such futuristic headlamps, but that din't make it to the production car. Almost all manufacturers use LED stuff on their Concpets, which almost always don't make it to production.

[anand.shankar]

I hope they launch the car with those awesome looking headlamps! I am putting off my Evo's Projector upgrades only because I saw the Urban cross pics in the Auto Expo. I know its dicey trusting Fiat, lets see.

[i74js]

Do they need to hide body shell for Puno? If at all there is something new are the alloy wheels. Everything else that has been changed inside is already available with the facelift of Linea and Punto Evo.

Let's hope they bring in something new which is not expected - a better 6 speed gear box or the AMT?

Cheers !

[RavenAvi]

Bookings for the Urban Cross are now being accepted at all Fiat dealerships for an amount of Rs 21,000. (link)

The Urban Cross is scheduled to be launched in the second half of this month.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Bookings for the Urban Cross are now being accepted at all Fiat dealerships for an amount of Rs 21,000. (link)

The Urban Cross is scheduled to be launched in the second half of this month.

Teaser is up on the site as well. Looks like it borrows alloys from the Abarth Punto thankfully.