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Mayur N. Shah

Mumbai, Nov. 1 Fiat India may reschedule the launch of its forthcoming product range. The company is considering launching the Fiat Linea first and then the Grande Punto, Mr Mr Giovanni de Filippis, Managing Director, Fiat India, said.

Earlier, the company had announced plans of launching the Grande Punto first, followed by the Linea. However, at that time the Linea was not launched.

The company’s evaluation on launching the Linea first is primarily due to the growing C-plus segment. As of now, the segment has grown to 18,000-plus units on a monthly basis. This is likely to grow further. Moreover, the company, when it launched the Fiat Linea globally, has targeted to attain sales of 2,80,000 units by 2012 of which India, a prominent player in this project, is expect to cross 50,000-60,000 units on an annual basis by 2012.

The C-segment car will be available with (1.4-litre petrol and 1.3-litre diesel) engine options. As a price indicator for the forthcoming Indian market, in Turkey, the vehicle is available in the price range of Turkish Liras 15,000-21,000. It has a localisation level of 60 per cent though the Indian model is likely to have a higher local content as the powertrain would be manufactured locally, said Mr De Filippis. The sedan will be manufactured at Fiat India’s plant at Ranjangaon in Maharashtra.

Besides the domestic market, there is high potential of India becoming the hub for the RHD (right hand drive) markets in the world, Mr De Filippis said. Likewise, the country may become the export hub for the 1.4-litre petrol and 1.3- litre powertrains for select markets in the near future.

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