Fiat eyes to double sales this year

Fiat India is planning to double its sales this year at 50,000 units against the 24,000 units it sold last year, its President and Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Kapoor said here today.

"The number of customers in the hatchback segment is growing and we want to tap the opportunity. We expect to double our sales from 24,000 units to 50,000 by December," Kapoor said, while launching two variants of its hatchback, the Punto here today.

The new 1.2-L petrol fired Punto comes in two variants -- Punto Fire Dynamic and Punto Emotion and is priced at Rs 4.57 lakh and Rs 4.87 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), respectively, taking the battle for the B-plus hatchback segment to a new height.

"The hatchback segment has seen 50 per cent growth last year. In fact, 60 per cent of all car sales happen in this category and we have 5.5 per cent market share now," Kapoor said, adding "we are now looking at doubling this."

The Italian carmaker reported a 78.38 per cent jump in February sales at 2,335 units.

The Punto Fire comes with a tilt steering, front power windows, fire prevention system and programmed service reminder in its entry level 1.2 Active variant.