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Murali Gopalan

Mumbai, March 22 As Tata Motors gears up for the Nano launch, its joint venture partner, Fiat ,will be monitoring the progress of the car with great interest.

The Italian automaker, of course, has not participated in this project but recently went public with its plans to make a low-cost car exclusively for India by 2012.

Tata Motors and Fiat have a 50:50 alliance to produce cars and powertrains at Ranjangaon near Pune.

This plant, already up and running, will roll out cars from both companies, badged separately but sold jointly, and the target is about 130,000 units by 2010.

Fiat is expected to account for 70,000 cars, comprising the Palio, the Linea and the Grande Punto while the Cinquecento and the Bravo form part of its CBU (completely built-up) import agenda.

The Italian automaker, incidentally, is simultaneously planning an “affordable car” for markets like Europe in the next couple of years but which will not sport the Fiat brand. Speculation is rife that the Ranjangaon plant could be one of the global manufacturing bases for this car which, sources say, will be “rich in technology and, therefore, not come in cheap”.

The fact that the company is now considering a low-cost car for India too could imply that it has been inspired by the Nano project and the possibility of notching up big numbers in this predominantly compact car market. Fiat’s own offering, though, will be at a premium to the ‘A’ segment (comprising the Maruti 800) and below the price range of entry-level ‘B’ segment cars (such as the Santro or the Indica). In other words, this vehicle could be priced around Rs 2.75 lakh which will make it twice as expensive as the Nano.

Would Tata Motors have a hand in this project? Nobody really knows yet though it is only logical to infer that Fiat will definitely tap its Indian partner’s skills in cost-control.

“To that extent, suppliers involved with the Nano will be roped in for the Fiat project too,” sources say.

In its turn, Fiat may have a big role to play once the Tata people’s car goes global. The Nano Europa, showcased at the Geneva Motor Show, is scheduled to enter Europe in 2011 and Tata Motors could turn to its Italian ally for support in market research and, eventually, selling too.

After all, in India, Fiat retails its cars along with Tata models in common showrooms and a similar arrangement could be worked out in overseas markets too.

The two companies have, time and again, reiterated that they are committed to their partnership that will generate critical synergies in costs, product development and marketing.

The Fiat 1.3 Multijet diesel already powers the Indica Vista and once the Italian company decides to produce its 1.6-litre diesel engine too at Ranjangaon, Tata Motors is very likely to use it for one of its models.

More Stories on : New Projects | Cars | Tata Motors Ltd

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