[sanjaymugur]

its the HERD mentality attitude here in india... what prevents buyers from even trying to just have a look at the brand,they just dismiss it.

i definitely blame it on society...... as one of my friends put it " A successful product is a reflection of the class of the society we live in."

take brazil for example.... FIAT outsells its UNO & PALIO more than ALTO or SWIFT here in INDIA.... what explains that ???

[julupani]

Well, at the end of the day, man has evolved from monkeys who epitomise "herd mentality". Its just human nature, not really anybody's fault.

[cingsman]

Originally Posted by PhiGolden

I reads correct, FIAT says tata bye bye

Oh alright! The capital T mucked it up for me.

[PAVAN KADAM]

India for FIAT is not Bread and Butter.

Fiat Sells well all over the world.

In India, inspite of having THE BEST PRODUCT's the Dealership is what let them down, and i think this move will give a boost to their products over a period of time.

My recent experience at FIAT - TATA showroom.

ME : Hi, we are here to buy a Diesel Hatch
Service Advisor : The Vista is the Best Diesel hatch sir, will arrange for a TD, please wait.

Me: No, we already own a Vista in the family so we are not interested.
S A : Sir, buy a different color, i assure you, Vista has fantastic features and the Best engine in its class, apart from Comfort.

Me : Sorry, No..
S A : ..................PAUSE.............NO ANSWER........OK Sir... PAUSE.

Me : OK, so what about the Punto
S A : Sir, you can consider the Manza, its marginally priced high over the Vista...
Me : (Perplexed)

Me : I want a Hatchback, and not a Vista, Can i TD the Punto...
S A : Sir......I will enquire, please wait.

He goes half heartedly over to the Fiat Service advisor, who's least bothered to sell the product.

Fiat SA : Yes sir, what do you want..?
Me : Punto Test Drive
Fiat SA : i will arrange for you please wait.

So, the moral of the story, the conglomerate is not actually doing any good for Fiat.

Lets wait and see how it goes.

NOTE: We have already shortlisted the the 90 hp Punto, and waiting for Diwali Discounts

[julupani]

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

India for FIAT is not Bread and Butter.

Fiat Sells well all over the world.

True, but it would be a mistake for FIAT to just glance over what is likely to be one of the largest passenger car markets in the world of this century.

Which is why I feel, they should not be scared and make considerable investment into India. Especially now that Chrysler acqusition is complete, it is time for the top management to concentrate on India, the only big market where they struggle badly.

[oxyzen]

Originally Posted by julupani

From you profile, I see you have a Palio.

Now with the Palio the story is completely different. First thing, most Tata dealers who became FIAT dealers are not too good with the Palio. Original FIAT dealers, who have been handling the Palio for long time are much better with it.

Also, parts are always much more difficult to source for the Palio, considering that it is almost non-existent.

FIAT also probably has completely given up on the Palio.

It is not just about Palio.
Agreed Palio has some additional problems with parts availability but look at the reviews about Dhingra motors and ABS in the Team-BHP forum and you will come to know exactly what I am talking about. It is the attitude and utter disregard for the customers that is unacceptable.

Indian customers today are very well informed. And I dont think marketing more aggresively will improve Fiat sales in India. They have to get the baics rights. Improve on the A.S.S. Introduce new FIAT service centres and dealerships. Offer support to Tata if you must to continue the coalition. Secondly improve the interior quality and fix the niggles. And most importantly employ Fiat sales-person separately in the Tata dealerships. It will be much more effective than launching brand stores.

Originally Posted by sanjaymugur

its the HERD mentality attitude here in india... what prevents buyers from even trying to just have a look at the brand,they just dismiss it.

That is not exactly true. Leave aside the pathetic A.S.S. and marketing.
As a product none of the Fiat is a complete car, a good all-rounder. It is just that Fiat dont understand the needs of am admi.

Take Punto for example. It is without a doubt a benchmark in the ride and handling department but who the hell in India cares other than a few enthusiasts. Hell even a 50 year old mechanical engineer does not understand the term Handling. What they care is Space (Indica, Liva) and Punto surely does not offer that. They care about great interior quality (I10,I20) but the Punto has got is horribly wrong. They want the car to have decent pep. But Punto with the same diesel engine practically feels a lot slower than Swift or Ritz. It does not even have the lag free nature of Figo. And finally to sum it up it is not regarded as VFM like the Beat/Figo. So how many people do you expect take this car home.

The T-Jet did one thing right. It was not sluggish. But then when it comes to petrol ANHC is obviously the masses choice. The only upgrade that can increase Lineas no is a 1.6MJD with good interior quality and a better interior design.

Bottomline- It is not the fault of people or society. It is entirely the fault of Fiat, not not able to read the Indian market and act accordingly

[Durango Dude]

Originally Posted by julupani

Well, at the end of the day, man has evolved from monkeys who epitomise "herd mentality". Its just human nature, not really anybody's fault.

It's the same herd mentality that made the Fiat 500/Citroen 2CV/Beetle a resounding hit. Fiat is a company known for it's beautifully designed small cars and which better market for it than India. Car companies are vying with each other to cater to this 'herd' mentality. Fiat which has to be a volume player here has been reduced a 'unviable' niche player; not reading the market correctly even after it's long sojourn in India.

[nkg77]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

Take Punto for example. It is without a doubt a benchmark in the ride and handling department but who the hell in India cares other than a few enthusiasts. Hell even a 50 year old mechanical engineer does not understand the term Handling. What they care is Space (Indica, Liva) and Punto surely does not offer that. They care about great interior quality (I10,I20) but the Punto has got is horribly wrong. They want the car to have decent pep. But Punto with the same diesel engine practically feels a lot slower than Swift or Ritz. It does not even have the lag free nature of Figo. And finally to sum it up it is not regarded as VFM like the Beat/Figo. So how many people do you expect take this car home.

Punto has adequate power, by no means it's a slouch. The first 2 gears might not match with the Maruti's, but on a long drive the so called swift cars are really back breakers.

The interiors are also not bad when compared to the cars you have mentioned. May be the plastics used are hard, but there are absolutely no rattles.

Even today I did a 200 km journey with 5 people and all of them were comfortable.

[oxyzen]

Originally Posted by nkg77

Punto has adequate power, by no means it's a slouch. The first 2 gears might not match with the Maruti's, but on a long drive the so called swift cars are really back breakers.

That is without a doubt that Punto is more comfortable on a long ride. IMO it has got much better ride quality. I was on the backseat of a swift for 3 hours. The 1st one was livable but the last 2 were painful.
But take the Driver's seat, the swift feels much more punchy. Mainly because it has got better gearing and also because it weighs less. The Punto is no slouch but compared to diesels it is on the slower side. Swift, Ritz, I20, Micra are all faster than the Punto. Even the Figo fells faster inspite of the lack of surge.

Originally Posted by nkg77

The interiors are also not bad when compared to the cars you have mentioned. May be the plastics used are hard, but there are absolutely no rattles.

With regards to durability & rattles I agree. My 9 years old Palio too has only some minor squeaks, no rattles. But in Punto, the quality of materials (look and feel wise) is poor. Nor are they well put together or assembled. There is nothing called as attention to details like Polo for eg.

Punto is a very good car but it needs more improvement. The problem is I dont see Fiat enthusiastic enough to make amends.

[nurni76]

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

India for FIAT is not Bread and Butter.

Fiat Sells well all over the world.

so what if they sell well all over the world. So do Honda, Toyota. Selling well all over the world doesn't compensate for Fiat's failure in India. India will be the future volume market and no one else but Fiat has realized this. They are trying their best to make an impact in India. so far they have not been successful. IMHO, this is another experiment worth trying. Dunno if it will succeed though. let's wait and watch.

[PAVAN KADAM]

Originally Posted by nurni76

so what if they sell well all over the world. So do Honda, Toyota. Selling well all over the world doesn't compensate for Fiat's failure in India. India will be the future volume market and no one else but Fiat has realized this. They are trying their best to make an impact in India. so far they have not been successful. IMHO, this is another experiment worth trying. Dunno if it will succeed though. let's wait and watch.

Hey . Thats what i actually meant in my reply.

No offense to whatsoever thing. Infact i myself would be driving the 90 hp Punto in the coming days.

For me the Fiat Grande Punto 90 hp is THE BEST HATCH in the Indian Market, and Fiat products Rock.

I sincerely hope this move will boost their sales and the company's Morale too.

[driveanddrive]

What I feel is dealership experiences differ from dealer to dealer. I have always received great service from Jaika Motors, Nagpur. Be it spares or any other issue. There are many Fiat owners who feel the A.S.S has improved a lot.
So the major problem is changing perception of the people and getting the pre-sales right. I feel pre-sales would improve once the brand stores are launched, but for changing the perception, Fiat will have to work real hard. This is definitely a move in the right direction. It is time people go to a Fiat showroom for buying a car, not a Tata one.

[yogi1771]

It is just not the A.S.S that Fiat needs to improve,something seriously wrong with Q.C.My cousin got a punto 6 months back already has been to the service center 4 times with some plastic and chrome parts falling of.
P.S Though he is happy with the way the car rides and quite satisfied with the power available.

[aravind.anand]

I took my father to the TATA showroom in my city to show him the Linea. It was the time when Nano booking were going on and a Nano had come to the dealership just that week. So myself and my father took a look at the Linea quietly as all the salesmen were busy looking at the Nano and explaining its features. So I approached a group of three salesmen who were chit chatting and asked for a TD. They said the TD car wasn't there! So I asked for the keys for the display car to see the interiors, for which he rudely said " Ask someone at the reception!" My dad got very irritated and ruled Linea out of the list and finally went in for the City. FIAT would not sell unless they open up separate showrooms, I thought that day. Finally the day has come, when FIAT has realised the same! Good for FIAT, but its going to be lot of work finding and convincing new dealers though. Especially considering their last quarter's performance.

[neoonwheels]

I hope separating the showroom floor would be the first step. In most of the showrooms, the sales people always attempt to divert attention to TATA products. The dealer might be getting better margins on TATA products and its NOT at all dealer's fault. Most people can not digest the fact that with the same engine (And of course a lot of space) why Vista is cheaper than Punto or Manza is closely priced to Punto. They give a damn about other positives of the FIAT cars. This would obviously be the case with 80% of the buyers.

I hope with a new facility and NO Tata products standing side by side, the sales would improve at least marginally.