The Hindu Business Line : Fiat may delay launch of Linea, Grante Punto

“We have always maintained that we will launch Linea in the September to December period. We are looking for an appropriate time,” said a Fiat spokesperson.

The reason attributed to the likely postponement of Linea’s launch is that there are too many car launches in September. The company thinks that it is wiser to wait a bit to ensure sufficient customer attention for the launch, according to Fiat officials.

Toyota, GM, Ford and Honda are reportedly preparing to launch their products in September, the beginning of the festival season.

“We are industrially ready to launch the vehicle in September. However, too many launches in the same month has prompted us to rethink,” said the spokesperson. After Palio, Linea will be the second locally manufactured Fiat model to be launched in India.

Grante Punto

Similarly, Grante Punto, another locally made model from the Fiat stable, which was supposed to be launched in December, will also come late. The company plans to launch the model in the first quarter of 2009.

“We do not want to confuse customers with frequent launches. We thought it is ideal to have a certain interval between consecutive launches,” the spokesperson said. The company launched Fiat 500 in the second half of July and is planning to launch Linea in the last quarter of this year. Following the Grante Punto launch, the company will introduce Bravo.

Linea, which will be available in 1.3 multi-jet diesel engine and 1.4 FIRE petrol engine, is expected to be priced within the Rs 5-7 lakh range.

30 bookings for Fiat 500

The company sold 10 units of Fiat 500, the two-door lifestyle car which is imported as a completely built unit. “We already have 30 bookings, and the next batch of 20 cars will be delivered in 15 days,” said the Fiat spokesperson.

The car, primarily targeted at socialites, is priced around Rs 15 lakh and sold in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune.