Fiat eyes historic comeback
Posted at December 20th, 2007 under Auto News, Automobile | 
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Back with a bang……
The palio owners may not be happy with the service of the Fiat and they may lost their trust on the company soon the scene may change. Fiat is looking to shed its bad image and plans a historic comeback. In 2007, it sold its palios thorugh the tata motors dealer network which improved the service quality marginally though not drastically. Come in 2008, it will unleash the products of the new Fiat(which marked with a new logo)
Fiat will line-up many new models in next 24 months. Here is the list of products and their tentative prices
* Fiat pailo diesel 1.3MJD – around Rs 4.5 lakh in February 2008
* Iconic two-door Cinquecento – around Rs 10-12 lakh in May 2008
* classically styled five-door Bravo – around Rs 14-15 lakh in August 2008
* Civic competetior the linea sedan – around Rs10-11lakh in September 2008
* Grande Punto and
* All new palio build in India by mid 2009
* Alfa Romeo and Ferrari also
You have stated that Fiat Linea will cost around 10 to 11 lacs. Linea is one of the most eagerly awaited cars in India but it it is going to cost a million rupees or more better not buy it. Honda Civic, Next generation Toyota Corolla, Skoda Octavia or even the next generation Volkswagen Jetta will be better bets. Indians are not so foolish to spend 10 lacs on a Fiat. Its efforts will be similar to Tata pricing its Indigo SX Diesel on par with Honda City – clear failure. If Fiat really wants to sell Linea in India it has to be priced at SX4′s price range. Otherwise there is no value for money.
Ok. Let’s wait and watch whether it sells or not. If Linea comes with 1.3MJD or 1.4 Fire wire, it has to be priced around SX4, Fiesta, Honda City, Verna, etc. If it comes with 1.4 Turbo jet petrol or 1.9MJD, then it has to compete with Civic, new Corolla, new Elantra/ i30 sedan, Laura, etc. Linea has enough features and build that can fit in any of these categories.
Fit Linea is a car built for Eastern Europe and BRIC market (Brazil, Russia, India and China). (Turkey, which is one of the countries where Linea is being built, is also considered part of European Union economic zone.) Therefore we can expect it to be a cheap and fuel efficient car but with better interiors and more spacious than Logan (one foot longer than Logan!). Exterior styling and interiors are also supposed to be much better than Logan but not as good as Chevrolet Optra Magnum.
Although Linea is sold with lots of gizmos in Europe, India will only get a stripped down version like all other cars. For example, European Logan has much richer feature set than the one sold in India and it costs only 6000 Euros (3 lakhs) where as Mahindra Logan has very few features and costs 4.5 lakhs ex-showroom for the car with 1.4L engine.
It is foolish to compare it with Honda Civic, Skoda Laura, VW Jetta or the new 2009 Corolla. I think Linea is a car that will compete with Chevrolet Optra Magnum and yet to be launched new Hyundai Elantra(Avante). It will have to be priced at about Rs.50000 cheaper than Optra and Elantra to attract customers considering Fiat’s poor brand equity in India. If they do it, Fiat will certainly woo customers who want a spacious but fuel efficient car as 1.3 Multijet Diesel engine will be much more fuel efficient than Optra Magnum Diesel and new Elantra Diesel.
90% of people who are evaluating Civic, Laura, Jetta or 2009 Corolla will never consider Fiat Linea because they will be conscious of premium image not Fiat’s price advantage over premium brands. Fiat’s resale value drops to half of its original value in three years where as Honda, Volkswagen, Skoda and Toyota are resale value kings whose hold more than 50% value even after 5 years.
Those who are considering Chevy Optra or waiting for new Hyundai Elantra will definitely lean towards Fiat Linea because of its superior fuel efficiency. People who are flocking to buy SX4 and Honda City may also buy this. So I expect sales of Honda City, Maruti SX4, and Chevrolet Optra sales to come down because of increased initial interest in Fiat Linea when launched in September 2008.
To Manjunath,
This is for sure that Fiat Linea will cost u around 6-9 lakh and not 10-11 lakh for sure.
well no right minded person will buy it if it will coast abt 9-11 lakhs .people would buy d civic or d jetta n i dnt think so it will take much sales of the city n sx4 . the new lancer would also b cuming 2 india so lets see d response fr it
anyway fiat is always fiat once they where the kings of indian roads lets shut and watch the game
This is a sheer disappointment to those who were eagerly waiting for the launch of Linea, including me. The price tag of 10-11 lakhs would also prove to be a disappointment for Fiat after the first quarter when they see their sales margin.
They should be competing with the like of Fiesta, Accent, Optra etc. If this figure of 10-11 lakhs is true,then it seems they want to take a huge share of profit at a go…
Anyway, I dont plan to buy Linea with such a huge price tag, and would rather go in for Ford Fiesta or something likewise.
Anyway lets watch n see. By the way, any idea when they intend to launch this car.
FIAT DELAYS THE LAUNCH OF LINEA
http://www.vicky.in/straightfrmtheheart/fiat-to-delay-launch-of-linea-and-grande-punto/
Tata and Fiat’s management is so paranoid of the competition from the new Honda City that they postponed the launch of Fiat Linea so that they get some time to re-adjust the feature support and pricing strategy.
Although Fiat Linea is of the size of Honda Civic (in-terms of total length – not cabin space), it is no match for the new Honda City in whose price range it is expected to be launched. Those considering to buy Fiat Linea should think of the total life cycle costs including resale value vis-a-vis Honda City before making a decision.
linea is a car with good looks..nd seem to be like a beautiful girl. but in india fait had not been a fine name in car market.. no good after sale service like..honda,hyundai,toyota etc..so it has a tough time to survive 1st..nd for th good reason to say its not reliable like honda, toyota..which is in th mind of a car buyer. in my veiw il jst opt for honda city , sx4 rather thn linea… for me price is not th factor..1st comes quality nd performance.
fait has not a good resale value like honda , toyota 40% less