Another 3 years: Ferrari on its way to India

greatDrive · 14th February 2007, 08:14

Link
Another 3 years: Ferrari on its way to India-Automobiles-Auto-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

Story Courtesy Economic times

For the first time in 11 years, Ferrari will go to the Formula 1 without champion Michael Schumacher, who retired from competition last year. When asked about the subsequent pressures, Mr Montezemolo said, “We have a brand new team with Kimi Raikkonen from Finland and Felipe Massa from Brazil. I think we will be competitive and try to win the championship this year.”

Brand Ferrari, he pointed out is not just a car but “a mixture of passion, design and extreme technology.” There are Ferrari merchandising shops in Las Vegas, Shanghai, Milan and Rome, besides a theme park in Abu Dhabi. A similar one could come to India in the next two to three years, he said.

According to him, Ferrari performs three functions today as a brand - one, to make exclusive passenger cars “because a Ferrari is like a good-looking woman and you have to ‘desire’ a Ferrari.” Two, racing with a record-breaking team in the history of Formula 1. The third function revolves around lifestyle activities. As far as Maserati is concerned, he said it was doing well all over the world as a competitor to the BMW 7-series and Mercedes. “We’ll perhaps get it to India in the next two years”. However, when asked about providing tech support for the much-touted Rs 1 lakh car or even picking up a stake in Tata, Mr Montezemolo maintained a cryptic “You’ll know in good time” line.

Gung-ho about Fiat’s tie-up with Tatas two years back, Mr Montezemomlo held that he would shortly be meeting Ratan Tata along with Fiat CEO Sergio Marchhione, to discuss the road ahead for extending the distribution network and even probably discuss the launch of other Fiat models in India. “Ratan Tata sits on the Fiat board and we firmly believe our relationship has enough room to become even bigger,” he said.

“Ever since he became the president of Fiat and the Confindustria in June 2004, he’s put India at the centre of international activities at the Confindustria. “I’ve got three main goals for my visit. First, to facilitate a lot of face-to-face meetings because India is very similar to Italy in terms of small and medium-scale companies. Second, with our Confindustria’s university at Rome called Loiss, one of the most important private universities in Europe, we would like a face-to-face with industry people. For this, we have decided on very strong specific sectors like food processing, leather processing, mechanical machines, design and textiles, infrastructure and tourism. The third goal is to take forward the CEO Forum, where Ratan Tata and I have created an Indo-Italian forum, with the first meeting in India and the second meeting in Italy,” he elaborated.

moralfibre · 14th February 2007, 09:16

3 years to enter India, by then every person who could afford a Ferrari will have a Lambo in his stable.

GTO · 14th February 2007, 09:47

I thought Ferrari had already entered India through the likes of nincompoops like National Garage. Remember the quad-turbo Octavia thread?

Have they even sold one? I remember their crappy 300 rupee ads in the back of the Bombay Times.

cartech · 14th February 2007, 10:08

Read this article in ECO times. Interesting redaing. I read today in HT that Punto, Linea will come in 2008 and First car rolled out from Ranjangaon yesterday. The HT article said that existing models will be withdrawn gradually. So Palio may not get JTD 1.3 ?

Another 3 years: Ferrari on its way to India-Automobiles-Auto-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

typeOnegative · 14th February 2007, 11:07

Read this article or a variant thereof in print medium. What was most interesting were the two Alfa's in the photograph. There was another article on the Linea in today's HT Cafe. It was gung ho on its prospects. But 2008? The competition will be miles ahead.

With regards to Fiat plans, they seem to be moving atleast. It would be great if the product portfolio is managed by Tata. Fiat does make exciting cars and it is kind of sad that they are going slow on rolling out the new models. Ideally they should have incorporated the machinery and plant setup for the new models while moving to Ranjangaon itself.

Will the Palio come with the JTD? I guess not. I think the move is towards the premium category so that there is no clash with Tata products - which, with all due respect, lack the finesses and finish of the Fiat ones. Good move. And maybe better late than never.

typeOnegative · 14th February 2007, 11:08

Ratan Tata has another 5 years. Maybe they should move faster with any discussion. The successor may not be that sweet on Fiat.

directinjection · 14th February 2007, 12:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by cartech

The HT article said that existing models will be withdrawn gradually. So Palio may not get JTD 1.3 ?

Withdrawal of Palio and its derivatives from India, if true, is sad indeed though it's probably good from the point of view of the Tata-FIAT collaboration. The collaborators must complement, not compete with one another. Let's also hope Tata improves the quality and reliability of its cars to the level of Palio and its siblings.

Palio_2005 · 14th February 2007, 12:48

I don't think Palio would be phased out for atleast 2 years. Anyways old models have to give way to new one's. This would definately be beneficial to Indian consumers .

directinjection · 14th February 2007, 15:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palio_2005

I don't think Palio would be phased out for atleast 2 years. Anyways old models have to give way to new one's. This would definately be beneficial to Indian consumers .

It's the phasing out of Palio platform altogether that's going to be disappointing for its fans. They wouldn't mind if an earlier model Palio is replaced by a later model Palio. Already, Palio Mark 4 is out abroad.

amit · 15th February 2007, 17:23

Did I read this right?

Quote:

the Ferrari honcho talked at length about his plans to introduce Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Fiat’s Grand Punto and Bravo.

The Bravo? I am not going to believe that till I actually see the bloody car here!

Indiatimes.

mahadev_kc · 15th February 2007, 23:01

Today, I saw a ticker in NDTV profit that says, FERRARI will be in India within 5 years and Alfa Romeo in 2 years..

finneyp · 15th February 2007, 23:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by amit

The Bravo? I am not going to believe that till I actually see the bloody car here!

Yes, it is unbelievable news, but if Fiat Chairman is saying that Bravo will be launched in India, then it may very much happen!

And I will be one of the first buyers!

amitverma · 15th February 2007, 23:24

the bravo would be a disaster. the indian market isnt ready for a 10lac hatch. the civic and skoda would just eat it alive.
the indian car industry has matured but it still has a veryyy long way to go. Fiat, if again, repeats its earlier mistakes, then i see another 2000 crore ruined.

moralfibre · 16th February 2007, 00:07

If the Bravo is priced at 10 lakhs then I doubt whether they would be able to sell even a single car?

The Linea if rightly priced as per the speculation will be a sure hit if marketed by Tata.

iraghava · 16th February 2007, 00:24

If the Bravo is anything above 6lakhs the only words I have for Fiat are "Chevrolet SR-V"!!! Let's hope they learn a lesson from GM.

14th February 2007, 08:14	#1
greatDrive BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 547 Thanked: 7 Times	Another 3 years: Ferrari on its way to India Link Another 3 years: Ferrari on its way to India-Automobiles-Auto-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times Story Courtesy Economic times For the first time in 11 years, Ferrari will go to the Formula 1 without champion Michael Schumacher, who retired from competition last year. When asked about the subsequent pressures, Mr Montezemolo said, “We have a brand new team with Kimi Raikkonen from Finland and Felipe Massa from Brazil. I think we will be competitive and try to win the championship this year.” Brand Ferrari, he pointed out is not just a car but “a mixture of passion, design and extreme technology.” There are Ferrari merchandising shops in Las Vegas, Shanghai, Milan and Rome, besides a theme park in Abu Dhabi. A similar one could come to India in the next two to three years, he said. According to him, Ferrari performs three functions today as a brand - one, to make exclusive passenger cars “because a Ferrari is like a good-looking woman and you have to ‘desire’ a Ferrari.” Two, racing with a record-breaking team in the history of Formula 1. The third function revolves around lifestyle activities. As far as Maserati is concerned, he said it was doing well all over the world as a competitor to the BMW 7-series and Mercedes. “We’ll perhaps get it to India in the next two years”. However, when asked about providing tech support for the much-touted Rs 1 lakh car or even picking up a stake in Tata, Mr Montezemolo maintained a cryptic “You’ll know in good time” line. Gung-ho about Fiat’s tie-up with Tatas two years back, Mr Montezemomlo held that he would shortly be meeting Ratan Tata along with Fiat CEO Sergio Marchhione, to discuss the road ahead for extending the distribution network and even probably discuss the launch of other Fiat models in India. “Ratan Tata sits on the Fiat board and we firmly believe our relationship has enough room to become even bigger,” he said. “Ever since he became the president of Fiat and the Confindustria in June 2004, he’s put India at the centre of international activities at the Confindustria. “I’ve got three main goals for my visit. First, to facilitate a lot of face-to-face meetings because India is very similar to Italy in terms of small and medium-scale companies. Second, with our Confindustria’s university at Rome called Loiss, one of the most important private universities in Europe, we would like a face-to-face with industry people. For this, we have decided on very strong specific sectors like food processing, leather processing, mechanical machines, design and textiles, infrastructure and tourism. The third goal is to take forward the CEO Forum, where Ratan Tata and I have created an Indo-Italian forum, with the first meeting in India and the second meeting in Italy,” he elaborated.
	() Thanks

14th February 2007, 09:16	#2
moralfibre Team-BHP Support Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: MH-12 Posts: 8,452 Thanked: 13,975 Times	3 years to enter India, by then every person who could afford a Ferrari will have a Lambo in his stable.
	() Thanks

14th February 2007, 09:47	#3
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,602 Thanked: 301,259 Times View My Garage	I thought Ferrari had already entered India through the likes of nincompoops like National Garage. Remember the quad-turbo Octavia thread? Have they even sold one? I remember their crappy 300 rupee ads in the back of the Bombay Times.
	() Thanks

14th February 2007, 10:08	#4
cartech BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Mumbai Posts: 198 Thanked: Once	Fiat Chief's interview Read this article in ECO times. Interesting redaing. I read today in HT that Punto, Linea will come in 2008 and First car rolled out from Ranjangaon yesterday. The HT article said that existing models will be withdrawn gradually. So Palio may not get JTD 1.3 ? Another 3 years: Ferrari on its way to India-Automobiles-Auto-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times
	() Thanks

14th February 2007, 11:07	#5
typeOnegative Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Vikhroli, Mumbai, India Posts: 1,503 Thanked: 27 Times	Read this article or a variant thereof in print medium. What was most interesting were the two Alfa's in the photograph. There was another article on the Linea in today's HT Cafe. It was gung ho on its prospects. But 2008? The competition will be miles ahead. With regards to Fiat plans, they seem to be moving atleast. It would be great if the product portfolio is managed by Tata. Fiat does make exciting cars and it is kind of sad that they are going slow on rolling out the new models. Ideally they should have incorporated the machinery and plant setup for the new models while moving to Ranjangaon itself. Will the Palio come with the JTD? I guess not. I think the move is towards the premium category so that there is no clash with Tata products - which, with all due respect, lack the finesses and finish of the Fiat ones. Good move. And maybe better late than never.
	() Thanks

14th February 2007, 11:08	#6
typeOnegative Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Vikhroli, Mumbai, India Posts: 1,503 Thanked: 27 Times	Ratan Tata has another 5 years. Maybe they should move faster with any discussion. The successor may not be that sweet on Fiat.
	() Thanks

14th February 2007, 12:48	#8
Palio_2005 BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 991 Thanked: 878 Times	I don't think Palio would be phased out for atleast 2 years. Anyways old models have to give way to new one's. This would definately be beneficial to Indian consumers .
	() Thanks

15th February 2007, 23:01	#11
mahadev_kc BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 328 Thanked: 48 Times View My Garage	Today, I saw a ticker in NDTV profit that says, FERRARI will be in India within 5 years and Alfa Romeo in 2 years..
	() Thanks

15th February 2007, 23:24	#13
amitverma BHPian Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: New Delhi Posts: 427 Thanked: 141 Times	the bravo would be a disaster. the indian market isnt ready for a 10lac hatch. the civic and skoda would just eat it alive. the indian car industry has matured but it still has a veryyy long way to go. Fiat, if again, repeats its earlier mistakes, then i see another 2000 crore ruined.
	() Thanks

16th February 2007, 00:07	#14
moralfibre Team-BHP Support Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: MH-12 Posts: 8,452 Thanked: 13,975 Times	If the Bravo is priced at 10 lakhs then I doubt whether they would be able to sell even a single car? The Linea if rightly priced as per the speculation will be a sure hit if marketed by Tata.
	() Thanks

16th February 2007, 00:24	#15
iraghava Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Bhaiyyaland Posts: 8,033 Thanked: 265 Times View My Garage	If the Bravo is anything above 6lakhs the only words I have for Fiat are "Chevrolet SR-V"!!! Let's hope they learn a lesson from GM.
	() Thanks