[shankar.balan]

agree with you zaks.

the problem has been staring them in the face since perhaps 2002-2003 onwards yet no one at Fiat's top management is able to see the wood for the trees.

hence some sharp suited, rim-less spectacled, black berry + fancy laptop totin' flupkat from a big name global organization is making big bucks.

If Fiat would have the sense to invest the same money that they are paying the consulting company, in their own consumers, CRM and the like, they will see an almost immediate turnaround in their impression and in their fortunes.

But C'est la vie!

Originally Posted by zaks

Yea, yea, the right moves indeed. But IMO too little too late. I just cannot imagine the stupidity of the top management at Fiat. Every fiat owner here knows and every other friend of a fiat owner knows whats the problem with Fiat but those high flying MBAs don't, what a pity. The problems facing them is staring in the face but they are glad to shell out a few million $ to Accenture to tell them what's wrong.

No, they still don't get it.

[.sushilkumar]

I Believe What FIAT is doing a Welcome Step.At least this sends out a strong message to those Owning FIAT's .

"Pls don;t Worry , we might have abandon you on previous occasions , But that last time has already happened . we are here to stay in long term and pls keep your faith in us ".

I was discussing this move of FIAT with Another colleague of mine and he stressed that Marketing a Product and connecting the End user with A Brand is very important . FIAT cannot survive in market based on Us enthusiasts . To survive,they must crack the MASS market . Unfortunately Marketing has always been a sore point with FIAT and it continues to be .

With the current initiative to open Brand store at least they will be able to address the other point "Connecting a Brand with End user " . They have a rich history but In Indian market , they are carrying huge baggage of abandoning the Indian customer as & as a customer we hasn't forgiven them. At least these brand stores will ease the pain a bit for the end customer.

Another Plus point for fiat will be that they will be able to connect directly with masses unlike in current scenario, where they has to depend on TATA's . They can have a Better feedback from end Users . this will help them in pulling up TATA's dealer ship for their Bad Deeds as feedback will be direct to FIAT rather than via TATA's Who is strongly feel are showing a rosy picture to higher ups in FIAT italy. Already we know they are serious About their customer service with people getting extensive calls from FIAT Italy for product feedback. Show me another manufacturer where CEO and high rank officials are trying to be in touch with End User.

As for Sales goes, they will northwards only when they have people's confidence about after sales service and spares, nothing else will convince a indian customer IMO .

[asdon]

When I got my Punto deal closed last month, I got this news from KHT Manager, these are going to be branded outlets like TATA did for JLR. And If I have to belive him 100%, then Fiat is planning to launch Alfa Romeo Brand in April, 2012, and there will be 15 such showrooms all over India.

[joe1980]

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[crazyro]

I am not sure if this is going to help FIAT much. IMO the best move forward would be to take control of the service. Have dedicated FIAT showrooms and service centers. I dont know why it is so difficult for a global auto giant like FIAT to have their own dealer network when everyone else is doing it.

[vvmanoj]

Good move in my opinion.

Sales is all about visibility and image. If boutique outlets will enhance that then so be it.

But this should not stop here. The other very important aspect is advertising. and be aggressive at that. Let it be every where print, tv , web everywhere.

Imagine what one full page ad with the line - "the national engine" or something on those lines would do. I bet 70% of the people dont know of the multijet under their swifts, dzires etc.

If Hyundai had licensed its engine I can imagine the marketing talk!

I also feel this a first step among few more. I am pretty sure FIAT specific service centers too would come up in time.

Cheers,
Manoj

[Mindgrinder]

i spoke to the guy (who was resigning from showroom) he got me a T-jet for TD, he told they have been told in training about italian coffee and stuff for T-jet but no bothers about small things for customers in a tata showroom. However he confirmed Fiat will open an owned showroom in Delhi but will take almost a year.

[neoonwheels]

Originally Posted by crazyro

I am not sure if this is going to help FIAT much. IMO the best move forward would be to take control of the service. Have dedicated FIAT showrooms and service centers. I dont know why it is so difficult for a global auto giant like FIAT to have their own dealer network when everyone else is doing it.

The problem is, with so much negative baggage of brand and low sales, nobody would be interested to put down his cash on FIAT only service center. The company has already put loads of money into the manufacturing facility. I guess if this boutique is able to forward customers to dealers keeping a tight hold on the dealer about sales, FIAT would see upsurge in sales. Even after having 175 dealer network, people are not yet aware about a car called 'Punto' and 'Linea'.

I guess FIAT for time being should start with brand awareness through the outlets and taking over advertisement from TATAs. Let TATA handle service and sales through dealers.

[.sushilkumar]

Originally Posted by crazyro

I am not sure if this is going to help FIAT much. IMO the best move forward would be to take control of the service. Have dedicated FIAT showrooms and service centers. I dont know why it is so difficult for a global auto giant like FIAT to have their own dealer network when everyone else is doing it.

I understand you point above but creating a Dealer Network / service center network is not a easy job . it took our home grown maruti all most 20 years to reach , where they are today . it's a very time consuming / capital intensive to have one's own Service / dealer network IMO and with the no of vehicle selling less than 2000, this will only increase FIAT's losses in indian. I suspect if FIAT's Parent will allow them that luxury with current sales figures.

I agree with what NeoOnWheels said above. let FIAT run a AD blitz and create a brand Awareness. Shouldn't be difficult given their Rich history. that will give them much needed boost in sales and with more no of LINEAS and Puntos on road, this will enhance their image & bring some customer confidence back .

[ashok_lat]

I guess this is a great move by FIAT. I guess TATA has gained more than FIAT in there Partnership. Its good for there brand awareness and image. I have been asked by a non-petro head friend while a visit to Tata-Fiat service center that “Hey your Car is TATA-Fiat Punto?”.

[anonymous]

As I see this, this is more about creating a brand awareness rather than anything else.
How many normal buyers know that Fiat is the company behind Ferrari. I have mentioned Ferrari because its common term everyone know.
When I was in the market looking to buy my first car, Fiat was not even on my list of choices because at that time, I had no knowledge about the cars and my choices were totally depend on the little awareness that I had. As you can imagine, my choices were Maruti, Tata and Hyundai.
During the same time, one of my friend bought Palio 1.6 and I was like, why dude why Palio.
My perception is changed and I hope that this move by Fiat will change the perception of other people as well.

[jalsa777]

more than all this, FIAT needs to educate people about its brand.

i really liked what VW did,
good ads in the paper and on TV.

FIAT needs to change its ad agency IMO,
show the people what they build around the world, their various brands, their technology, their history.

Educate ppl that the diesels in suzuki cars (which are adored by the junta) are infact FIAT tech.

[Fiat&Me]

Really a big big news for me.
I am the most happiest person to see my dream brand is growing!!!
One of the most important and best decision taken by FIAT at little delayed time. But it is better to be late than never. Many many best of luck from me and Fiat Classic Club Hyd (FCCH). I think now FIAL is serious about the sales in India and my dream is going to become true.
"25% market share by 2015 and 50% by 2020. So guys be ready to see every alternate car on Indian road as FIAT !!!"

[vipul_singh]

If this is the first in a long series of improvements, then I'm fine. But I hope FIAT (or their consultants) realize that this is only a first step, nothing more

I find the parallels between the Indian IT and Automotive (car) industry striking. What buyers are looking for these days are not point-solutions but end-to-end solutions.

For the mass market, the car itself is only a part of the expectation. What the mass market values is a hassle free transportation solution first and foremost. And hassle free service is as much a part of the equation as the car itself is. In fact, while the sales process happens only once in the lifetime of a vehicle, the customer interacts with the Service organization many more times.

My opinion is: FIAT would have to do something extraordinary to get the market to change its image. Even matching what the other carmakers do would not really improve matters. What they need is something new about the ownership aspect to announce to the customer every month.

For example, they could come up with a scheme to provide courtesy cars under certain circumstances - something none of the other mass market car manufacturers do.

Next month, they could start a free pickup and drop service. Why not capture a visual record of the drive from and to the customer's location and allow the customer to see it, just to allay fears of the vehicle being misused?

The third month, they could tie up with a detailing service to spruce up customer's vehicles at their premises for a reasonable price

The fourth month, they could announce company owned service centers in major cities, where even the last mechanic is a FIAT employee!


And they will have to keep doing and publisizing this for 12 months before the mass market is forced to sit up and take notice.

It would require both investment and strong willpower to pull themselves out of the hole they are in.

[drpullockaran]

Originally Posted by carboy

When Fiat signed a partnership with TATA, a lot of Fiat owners celebrated because they felt that the Fiat A.S.S was pathetic & the tieup with Tata could only improve it.

I too thought that the association with TATA would improve matters. It was just the mirage of the grass on the other side being supposedly greener.

I used to curse the FIAT exclusive service centers in 2002 but I realized they were GOD sent when compared to TATA service centers of the present day. The major thing I had against FIAT exclusive service centers were lack of spares but at least the guys would not bugger your car like the present day tata service does.
Muneem could fill you in on the juicy bits about what happens at TATA service centers to Fiat cars.

Presently I am waiting in the wings just for the break up of TATA_FIAT to happen so that I can book my favorite FIAT.