Fiat India Automobiles Ltd, the 100 per cent subsidiary of Italian car major Fiat Auto, will officially launch the Palio in Delhi this October. The car is expected to hit showrooms by mid-1999. Fiat India's move follows a recent spurt in new car launches. The Palio will have to compete with Hyundai's Santro, Daewoo's Matiz and the upcoming Tata Indica, among others.
Fiat has also decided to slash the prices of the spare parts of the Uno. The Uno is being produced by Ind Auto Ltd, a joint venture between Fiat Auto and Premier Automobiles Ltd.
The revised prices will soon be circulated. Fiat will absorb the costs so that the spare parts cost the same as those of its established competitors in India. now-famous Project A 178 platform which is flexible enough tocreate five different models. The design work for the Palio was done by I.DE.A of Italy who has helped develop the Indica for Telco. Apart from the base model which is a two-box hatchback, the same platform also churns out a three-box sedan by the name Siena, an estate version by the name Weekend, a monospace van and even a pic-up version. The Palio hatchback, the Siena and the Weekend will be launched first in India. These cars will share the 1000CC four cylinder petrol and the 1700CC four cylinder diesel engine with the Fiat Uno. The Palio will be produced from the greenfield plant that is nearing completion at Ranjangaon near Pune.
This Rs 3500 crore plant is being built in the same lines as the Cordoba plant of Fiat in Argentina that produces the Palio and other Fiat products. The Ranjangaon plant will have an installed capacity of 1,00,000 units a year.
The Fiat Palio range is expected to be priced competitively at the compact and mid-size car segment in India. According to Gianni Ravina Managing Director of FIAL, the company is aiming at 50 per cent of the compact car segment and 10 to 12 per cent of the overall car market in the next three to four years.
The Fiat Group has decided to invest over US $ One billion in India over the next two years.Fiat Auto has already invested US $100 million in the Indian operation which includes Ind Auto and Fial.
