[PatchyBoy]

The Hindu Businessline:
“We are industrially ready to launch the vehicle in September. However, too many launches in the same month has prompted us to rethink,” said the spokesperson.

Then launch it first, so that you beat the competition. Or launch it last, after everyone else has launched and customers have booked their cars and there are few die-hard fans left to buy the Linea. Gotta give it to you FIAT. You guys know how to make great cars, but you are better at killing them.

Cheers,

Rajan

[hillram]

According to the Company sources Linea will be lauched this month.
In Hyd 5 Fiat 500s have been sold to Deccan chronicle as per Malik Cars

[karanraheja]

Originally Posted by speedzak

So, every news about Fiat is supposed to be taken as a speculation if there're no names given in the news article?
What about other manufacturers?

Come on guys! This is not some Prehistoric era that somebody writes some crap about a respected car manufacturer and there's nobody to question that. Especially newspapers like Hindu wouldn't fall so cheap.
There has to be some fire from where the smoke is coming out.

The same paper is quoting Linea to be priced between 5-7 lacs. You would buy that too???? First of all i never said that all info about Fiat is a speculation!!! But if Fiat claims that so many launches is the cause of the delay of Linea launch i would just say they have lost some customers already. Few dealers are still confident of September launch and thats what is confusing after reading the article.

[speedzak]

Originally Posted by karanraheja

Few dealers are still confident of September launch and thats what is confusing after reading the article.

This is exactly what we need to know. Is there any concrete info on this launch not being delayed? Then, very good.
If not, we are all speculating here more than the Idiot Journalist!

Linea being priced at 7l range is something we are hearing from last year. What's so new about that? Why the sudden hue and cry? This car is supposed to be a competition for the City and SX4 if I'm not wrong. They cannot launch it for the price of a Corolla and expect it to be a success.

[deepakhon]

If this news is indeed true, then it is a bad decision on Fiat's part.
Going by their logic, there are too many launches in September and they do not want to confuse the buyers, fine. So, they delay the launch of Linea. But why delay the launch of Grande Punto? Are there too many launches in December too? I fail to comprehend this decision of theirs.

[dude131]

Please contact them and try and get the date or atleast get them to rethink their strategy (if delayed)

Registered Office & Factory
FIAT INDIA AUTOMOBILES PRIVATE LIMITED
B-19, Ranjangaon MIDC Industrial Area,
Ranjangaon - 412210.
Taluka - Shirur,
Dist. - Pune,
India

Tel: +91 - 02138 - 672700 / 232144 / 5 / 6 / 7
Fax: +91 - 02138 - 232143

[amit]

Originally Posted by theMAG

The delay could also be due to "creative pressure" from Tata, may be they expect their dealers hands full with the Vista's demand, and want to ensure maximum mindshare from their dealers for - maximum bookings

Apart from that possiblity, ET also reported a few days back that Tata-Fiat showrooms are going through a makeover. Fiat is going for the red European look while Tata showrooms will sport a blue look. Maybe the dealerships are not yet ready with this arrangement.

It falls in line on how Fiat is treating Indian market.

If you go through the article in an unbiased way (I know it's asking for too much but try it for once!) you will see that there is some logic in what Fiat is thinking (if at all they want to delay the launch.)

The reason attributed to the likely postponement of Linea’s launch is that there are too many car launches in September. The company thinks that it is wiser to wait a bit to ensure sufficient customer attention for the launch, according to Fiat officials.

Toyota, GM, Ford and Honda are reportedly preparing to launch their products in September, the beginning of the festival season.

Linea and GP are make or break cars for Fiat and nothing wrong if the company wants to play safe and ensure that there are no launches a few weeks before and after their car is launched. Fiat wants the Linea to be the center of attention in the customers minds for a few weeks. Nothing wrong with that. Besides Honda obsessed Indians aren't going to look at any other car for a few months if that company launches a new product. Let's face it. Fiat can't compete with Honda in India. Good that they know it too.

If the launch is postponed whats the big deal? They say the car will come in october instead of September. Thats just 4-6 weeks! It's not like they have postponed it by 52 weeks. Whats the big hue and cry if that happens? This happens in other industries too. So many bollywood movies releases are postponed so that a smaller budget movie doesn't clash with a big budget one. This is something similar. Linea is an all new car from a struggling carmaker. If the producer doesn't want it to slug it out with a superstar of the market then there is nothing wrong with their being defensive.

If this news is true, the postponement is just for a month. What's 4-6 weeks in today's age?!

PS: I think we should be mentally ready to see a Rs.10 lakh price tag for a top end Linea diesel model. It's going to save us from disappointment. I really don't think the car can be priced at 5-7 lakhs. It's a Civic / Corolla sized sedan with diesel power. How can it be priced at Dzire , SX4 price points? Let's be realistic about our expectations and don't take the word's of these journalists seriously. They thought the Jetta would be priced with SX4 and NHC!

[opendro]

I too hope that Fiat reads some of the popular car forums to read the sentiments of the waiting customers of Linea. I'm definitely going to be one of the first few buyers of Linea. Having said that, I will not buy it if they fail to launch in September or if they fail to give a definite date like Toyota is doing for Altis (September 5). Not that I cannot wait for another month or two after waiting almost a year. It is just the dumb heads of Fiat that I hate at this point of time. I would rather get back to Optra Magnum diesel or buy the Hyundai Avante diesel in October.

Fiat, you must know that earlier the better, as people have already started making beelines to inquire about different cars for the festive season buys (honestly hope they are reading it).

[Sujai]

Originally Posted by amit

Linea and GP are make or break cars for Fiat and nothing wrong if the company wants to play safe and ensure that there are no launches a few weeks before and after their car is launched. Fiat wants the Linea to be the center of attention in the customers minds for a few weeks. Nothing wrong with that. Besides Honda obsessed Indians aren't going to look at any other car for a few months if that company launches a new product. Let's face it. Fiat can't compete with Honda in India. Good that they know it too.

Lets say they are releasing Fiat Linea in October. If Honda city gets launched in september end, I am not sure which one will get attention from people given the current image of FIAT in India

[karanraheja]

Originally Posted by speedzak

Linea being priced at 7l range is something we are hearing from last year. What's so new about that? Why the sudden hue and cry? This car is supposed to be a competition for the City and SX4 if I'm not wrong. They cannot launch it for the price of a Corolla and expect it to be a success.

Please get my point. Priced between 5-7 lacs takes it to the Dzire segment. Price 7-8 lacs is more realistic for a car of this size/category. In short the article should nt have mentioned the range 5-7 lacs.

[SkyWalker]

Originally Posted by karanraheja

Please get my point. Priced between 5-7 lacs takes it to the Dzire segment.

yes Karan. Frankly, suggestion of 5-7 lacs of Linea shows this journalists' complete ignorance about Indian automobile industry. Either that, or he's smoking a real good one.

I would expect the petrol Linea to be in the Honda City range (8-10L) and the diesel to be around 9-10L. Being a bit realistic helps. Of course just an educated guess from my side.

As for the delay - we don't know if there is a delay. But if there's one - not a good move from FIAT. If Honda launches new city in Sep end or Oct beginning FAIT will be the losers. But then i wonder if they are waiting for the new City launch to see the prices. Even if its the case - they should at least do a soft launch like what Toyota did with Altis to gauge the customer interest and hit an optimal price range.

[Palio_2005]

I don't think Fiat is to be blamed for the delays. Now Tata's call all the shots as far as marketing, sales and service of the cars.

Fiat had the responsibility of getting the car ready for the launch and they have delivered.

I visited BU Bhandari at Pashan, Pune and the entire showroom is being done up for the launch. The Vista was parked outside...

[sridharps]

A delay of 4-6 weeks is a minor delay and could be for any number of reasons - logistical, advertising campaign not fully in place etc etc but nothing major to worry about. Come on guys, we have all seen in our organisations how new product/project launches go- there are always delays and snags.
What is certainly intriguing is the issue on the specs and the price range, with various media sources quoting widely different things. While obviously Fiat would keep mum on the prices, it would have helped if they had started putting bits and pieces of information on their website(much like what they are doing for Bravo) on specifications,pictures etc.
I must say that I am disappointed with Fiat India on this front.

[Sujai]

After getting too frustrated because of this news, I called up Fiat Pune office and from there I got Mumbai marketing office number. The message that I got from marketing office in Mumbai is that Fiat Linea launch is going to happen in November/December. They took my phone number promising that I will get a call once the car is launched. They confirmed that the launch is not going to happen before that. I don't think there is any point in me waiting for this launch. Bye Bye Fiat Linea

[rajneeesh]

Fiat may probably like the City to be out before they launch the Linea. Then they can price their car accordingly.In case the Honda is priced at say 7.5 lakhs, a petrol Linea despite being bigger, cannot be priced higer than the City as Indians lap up anything with the H badge and FIAT suffers from a very low brand equity ( except for a few hardcore fans). Launching the car, and then having to change the prices in a month or so will not do Fiat's brand equity any good. The only question is - what happens if 3rd gen City is not launched till December?