The Hindu Business Line : Fiat 500 to be launched this month

Mumbai, July 8 Fiat, which is aggressively trying to expand its presence in India, is launching its much-talked about two-door lifestyle car Fiat 500 this month. Unlike in the Europe, Fiat 500, which is imported to India as completely built unit, will not be a mass market product here. “It is primarily an image building exercise,” a Fiat source said.

However, the 3.55-metre car is expected to attract celebrity circuit, youth and auto enthusiasts. The price of Fiat 500 is expected to be around Rs 15 lakh.

The company, which has already established Palio in the upper segment of small cars in its comeback, is now on an expansion mode. With seven variants in diesel and petrol, Palio sells around 600 units a month. “We are selling as much as we produce. We are increasing our production to meet the market demand,” said the spokesperson of Fiat India.

The company hopes that the launch of Fiat 500 and Bravo would serve as an effective brand advertising initiative before the launch of the mid-size sedan Linea in September.

Linea is another locally produced model from Fiat, following Palio. Sources said that localisation in Linea will reach beyond 90 per cent in the current year. At the time of launch, Linea is expected to come up with 70 per cent local content. Fiat’s successful 1.3 multi-jet engines with 95 bhp will be used in Linea.

“Mileage will be our key selling point. We get good customer-feedback for Palio for which we guaranteed 16 km/litre mileage. Some have even said that they are getting 20 km plus mileage. Linea will also be positioned as the most fuel efficient car in its segment,” said a Fiat source.

Another Fiat model Grande Punto is scheduled to be launched in December. Meanwhile, the company is still pinning its hope on Palio to establish itself as a volume player in the Indian market. The company is reportedly working on CNG-variant of Palio.

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