Fiat India to focus on brand-building

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Fiat India Automobiles will continue focusing on its brand-building exercises and to create a strong presence across India in the coming years, according to Ravi Bhatia, head (business development) of the company.

"We are taking up aggressive advertising and marketing initiatives this year to position the brand in the market. This year, we have launched the 2012 model year in the beginning of the year. We have also launched the Punto 90 HP edition with additional features, a engine-technical campaign and launched two Fiat caffes - company's exclusive showroom - at Pune and Delhi," he said.

Today, the company has launched its limited Absolute editions of its Punto and Linea in Hyderabad. The Absolute edition cars come with a customised accessory pack that offers additional value to customers at no extra cost.

"This is our fourth such initiative this year to position the brand and to increase the market share from the current 0.4%," Bhatia told Business Standard.

The company, which had formed a joint venture with Tata Motors in 2008 to manufacture, sell and service its vehicles, decided to part ways earlier this year. It is now on a re-structuring drive to revive its brand in the country.

"We are going to open 80 exclusive company owned dealerships across the country by March 2013," he said. Currently, Fiat India has 174 Tata Fiat outlets in India.

It targets to sell 1,000 units per month. "During the festive season, we expect to get more customers and expect to see a good growth in sales," he said refusing to put a concrete number.

The new limited editions with ‘Absolute’ features come with maximum benefits of upto Rs 78,000 on Linea and Rs 67,000 on Punto, as part of the festival offer. The new features include car pad - navigation & 3G tablet, exchange bonus and discounts on insurance.