The Hindu Business Line : Fiat to sell its cars only through Tata-Fiat dealership chain

Mr De Filippis Giovanni, Managing Director, Fiat India, said the company has been selling its models using the existing 41 outlets of the Tata-Fiat dealership chain and has now proposed to link the remaining 38 `Fiat' channels to the Tata-Fiat chain.

The Tata-Fiat retail rollout is a culmination of the Tata-Fiat alliance with one of them being the joint sales of Fiat and Tata cars from a single retail roof. As of now, there are 41 dealerships and 19 are soon to be added to raise the total to 60 outlets across the country, said Mr Giovanni.

In March 2006, Fiat Group and Tata Motors had announced the distribution and marketing agreement and since then Fiat has sold 2,084 units (March 2006 - January 2007). With the introduction of various Fiat models such as Fiat Palio (face-lift), Fiat Grande Punto and Fiat Linea, sales are expected to move up from the larger number of outlets.

Though Fiat sales are low compared with Tata Motors, the Italian outfit has decided to be part of the niche market with high-end value to give them a 5 per cent market share in the near future, said analysts.

The two companies have split their product and price positioning in the domestic market to avoid any cannibalisation in the future. Market consultants feel co-branding is fine as long as the retail chain is under one name, for example Shoppers' Stop. Dealerships should have one name irrespective of the number of brands it sells under one roof, said Mr Jagdeep Kapoor, Chairman and Managing Director, Samsika Marketing Consultants.

History says co-branding has been a short-term arrangement as brand equity tends to rub on each other, said Mr Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults, Inc. It is most likely Fiat will use Tata's after sales service network forte and leverage its position with `value for money' product portfolio.

More Stories on : Announcements | Channels and Franchises | Tata Motors Ltd | Cars

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page