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-   -   Rumour: Fiat to phase out operations in India (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/179894-rumour-fiat-phase-out-operations-india.html)

Hello BHPians,

I read this article from Cartoq which states FCA will have Jeep as it's mainstay and Fiat cars will not be sold after 2019. Fiat India has confirmed that there will not be any new product launches in the future.

Here is the link

http://www.cartoq.com/fiat-brand-to-...a-says-report/

But FCA India CEO Kevin Flynn has denied the news though. Anyways, Fiat India is not going to see new products anytime in the near future.

It is indeed a sad news to every car lover in the country.



Regards
Prasanna

If true, it's indeed a sad news for the true car lovers.

But, one has to be realistic. With the kind of abysmal sales figures, the company cannot survive in the market. Death bells are ringing for this great brand for a long time. Even though it so sad, I think this is inevitable.

:eek:

Sad news for existing owners. They started making no sense for new costumers long back itself.

As an owner I'm not really worried though. The speed with which FIAT management takes decisions, they should be around longer than I would keep my car, trying to sell Punto Pure and Linea Classic. :D

I think they are selling Punto Pure because there are no new platforms with them to sell. But they can always introduce the Bravo at a later date and prolong the pain-pleasure paradigm with owners & enthusiasts.

They are as good as phasing out operations even now :D No new launches, no clear vision for the future, thin dealership network - so many things are wrong with Fiat! I wonder what exactly is their management doing. They just seem uninterested in selling cars. Don't they have yearly appraisals?

If true, this is indeed sad news. I've never owned Fiat cars, but I respect them for their solid engineering, great looks.

It was coming from a long time. Fiat must be making more money in India by just selling the diesel engines to Maruti and TATA, and it can continue doing so ever after pulling the plug on retail operations.

A saddening news because FIAT has been in India from last 30 years but there is no one to be blamed apart from themselves. Even if this is true, Palio and Punto will always be in our hearts.

If a manufacturer pulls out of a market that's rapidly expanding and maturing alongside (the sheer volume of cars sold around 10L, and the Crysta), then I'd say its a comment on the manufacturer than the market.

People here have written tomes explaining what Fiat needs to do, and yet they just don't seem to care. Look at Tata, they were in a worse situation and are now slowly crawling back in to the game. If Tata with a (arguably) worse product range and everything else equally abysmal can at least put up a fight, so can Fiat. It would be sad to see them go without even trying hard enough.

Oh man, not again, really sad news for FIAT fans.

Let me hurry up in buying one, not a car of FIAT, but the set of grease caps of Punto Pure's wheel as I need to put them on the Punto wheel which is fit on the Premier Padmini.

With the pricing strategy of Jeep Wrangler & Jeep Grand Cherokee and hence slump in subsequent demand from prospective customers, I won't be surprised if by 2019 they plan to pull out Jeep operations as well !

There goes the 'so called' resale value, its going to nose dive further from its already abysmal low levels.

This is indeed sad news for Fiat fans like me (1100, Palio and Linea) . I was looking to replace my 6 year old Linea with another sedan. Unfortunately none of the new cars (except vento) can hold a candle to the ride, handling, solid feel and driving pleasure. Vento comes close but has extreme high maintenance costs and service costs (as informed to me by my friend). Still hoping that Fiat mends its ways and gives us some good cars.

I am rather concerned about the date by which Suzuki would stop buying MJD. That would be the day I would sell off my Punto :Frustrati

Good riddance. With their abysmal product range there is no point in Fiat staying in India anymore , if they dole out third rate treatment to its prospective customers this is what they end up with. End for an era for another car manufacturer who even tough had the capability never really focussed on the Indian market .:deadhorse

Even the engine sales are reducing as Maruti are increasing capacity and also due to reduced demand. Most of their sales would come from Tata.

The article is a bit speculative. As mentioned in the Jeep Cherokee Launch thread. I met with the head of production. They are not able to bring a car here that meets our price range. Also engineering a right hand drive version for a such a small volume is not worth it. Fiat do not have the deep pockets to make cars at a loss.

One opportunity might be a cheaper version of the Fiat 500X - hmmm, maybe those Jeep Renegades are being used to test these??

Makes sense. Cars branded Fiat have had a huge disadvantage due to their image. Dealers don't seem willing to stick with Fiat due to tiny numbers and existing customers complain of a tiny (for a mainstream brand) dealer network and poor resale value all of which is a vicious cycle plunging the brand downwards gradually. Not even an Abarth Punto could set things right for Fiat and the much pricier CBU Mustang seems to be outselling it.

But FCA can launch a lot of other brands in the country and even work on uniting a bunch of their luxury brands together, like Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Jeep and maybe Chrysler (their full sized sedans might do well in fleet sales to 5-star hotels) and thus put up a better fight against the big three Germans.

Their dealer network while tiny for a mainstream brand is big enough for a luxury brand. Their existing production lines can be converted to CKD assembly lines and perhaps continue producing some Fiat cars in India for export.