Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   The Indian Car Scene (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/)

-   -   Fiat says Tata, all set to launch brand stores (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/90863-fiat-says-tata-all-set-launch-brand-stores-9.html)

I second that without a doubt. Fiat has probably best of technologies in the World. Their strategy is poor in India. They should be more confident about their products and have their own dealerships and after sales service centers which will ask for more investment but looking at their quality products, I would not have thought twice.

The reason why they are not selling well is incorrect publicity by people who do not own a FIAT and who have no idea of capability and substance this car offers. This has been discussed to death in other forums so I feel there is no point in continuing this discussion on these lines any furthur.

Plain and simple. It's called perception.

Almost all the time, perception of a brand plays a more important role than actual qualities of the product.

Where FIAT have failed is to proactively try to change that perception. They have succeeded to a great extent in solving many problems, but have not done much to portray to potential buyer's that they have done so.

In reality, their service is not too bad at all. I have had a no worse experience with FIAT service in the last 2 years, compared to Maruti service for the previous 7 years. In fact in many ways its been much better with FIAT. And my buying experience at the Tata dealership was the best among all the dealerships I visited in my town at the time. It was still the best, when I did so again a couple of months ago when my brother bought a Punto.

For example, FIAT was the only company in India other than Maruti, who scored over the industry average in last year's JD Power customer satisfaction survey. But I rarely see FIAT using this fact in any of their advertising campaigns.

With me the case is just opposite. Yet to find a decent one in Gurgaon. All the 2 centres are simply pathatic. Noone cares, noone is willing to work, technical knowledge NIL and I can go on whole day.

I dont care about brand stores. All I need is independent service centres.

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.

As someone who has never driven or owned a FIAT car. My opinion, relative to FIAT/Tata JV opening seperate showroom for FIAT cars, is a promising move for FIAT. Since, the very 'exclusivity' would lure those prospective customers to thier showrooms who came from the very beginning to the very showroom to see only FIAT cars and not TATA cars.
This move should bring about an increase in sale of FIAT cars, even though it may not be that drastic. AS far as to the speculation about follow-up to this move from FIAT side, in terms of extending it to seperate After-sales service ..., etc. I would abstain to give my opinion on it, since its best to take into consideration the opinion of those loyal FIAT car owners , who have gone through the ownership in its entirety.

This probably is true but is this a way to treat existing customers? Does this not create a very bad impression about the brand? The car was discontinued just few years ago and people are already struggling to get parts.

FIAT could have managed this better as existing customers serve as brand ambassadors. However, they took the easy way out. Dumped Palio and went for newer models. However, even with Punto and Linea parts issue has not gone away.

I am discussing my next car with Ford Executive. Here is the conversation

SE - Which other cars are you considering?
Me - Punto.
SE - Sir, my humble request. You don't buy Ford but don't even consider anything from Fiat.
Me - Why.
SE - Fiat has no future in India, after sales service is pathetic blah blah
Me - Have you owned Fiat?
SE - Nop.
Me - So how do you know about all this?
SE - This is what people say for Fiat.

So you see, its only and only perception of people and which is very hard to break.

Correction regarding the bold part. Palio NV is still very much on sale in 3 engine variants 1.1P, 1.6P & 1.3MJD. Its still there on the Fiat India website. The fact that they didn't sell a single Palio in all of August 2011 is an entirely different matter.

Even I had very similar experience with a Chevy Dealer. I went to them for looking at Optra Magnum. The SA asked me on other cars which I am considering and I told Fiat Linea. After that he was talking all negative about Fiat rather than talking any positive about Chevy.

For a loss making company, economics unfortunately trumps in this case. Remember the number of Palios is negligible today. So just like all car's that are as rare as the Palio, there will be difficulties.

Parts will be tough to come by, as they mostly have to be brought in from outside India. Similarly, experienced service technicians will also be tough to come by.

But I think, the mistake FIAT is making today, is that their dealers seem to be uncaring and dismissive of Palio owner's. It will obviously be tough, but one still must take care in the best possible way.

Where does perception come from? It's not a figment of imagination. It's painstakingly created over a period of years of the car's sold and serviced and ownership experience. Fiat's been in India for so many decades. Then why do people perceive it in such light? Are you saying people are wrong?

True, in my view people "are" wrong.

But they have a basis to have such wrong perceptions, since those perceptions are based on realities of the past. So I am not blaming anyone here. If anyone is to blame, its FIAT, who have not been very proactive at changing those perceptions and put it across to people that those perceptions are no longer rooted in reality.

I rest my case. Better not to blame the people for the doings of the company. I think, Fiat India needs better management to turn things around, nothing short of a miracle can do that.

I don't think anybody would disagree with you on that front, they need better management. But it is stretching it too far to call somebody "unprofessional".

This step of setting up exclusive showrooms is definitely a step in the right direction, and I think it was taken up with feedback from customers as well.