The new Fiat with new cars, new service centres, new plans for the future

With five new launches scheduled this year, Fiat is going to significantly increase its presence on Indian roads. At the Auto Expo '08, Fiat India CEO Rajeev Kapoor speaks to Sourya Biswas about his company's future plans and how the Tata Motors' tie up has helped. (View exclusive domain-b video interview with Rajeev Kapoor)

How has been the response to the Fiat Palio and the Fiat Palio Stile, which has been publicized as the fastest hatchback in India?
Response has been very encouraging…the numbers on Palio Stile Sport, which is 1.6L, have been increasing in the recent past. We see it as a very perky, very torque-y vehicle, but of course, as you know, we would now launch another version in diesel, which we feel is going to add more numbers to our sales.

You are bringing in the Cinquecento and the Bravo as fully imported units. How many units does Fiat expect to sell of these expensive cars and at what price-points?
Cinquecento actually is a style product…it's a brand statement and we want to keep it like this. It will be very exclusive in India. The base version is expected to cost around 12 lakh rupees because it will be a completely built unit (CBU) imported into India. Cinquecento actually is a car which the customer has to build…. there are a whole lot of customisations available…and our effort would be to bring those customisations also for Indian customers. That would be additional cost on top. So every car actually is unique, and it would be sold to very select customers, and we are at the moment collecting expressions of interest from would-be customers here at the Auto Expo…and we will then follow them up personally, one by one, to select customers, and also design the cars for them.

You haven't decided on the prices yet?
As I said, the base price is 12 lakh-plus, and then there will be the added cost of customisation.

When are the Linea and the Grande Punto going to be launched in India? Can you provide some specifications of these cars?
Linea would be available to Indian customers in third quarter of this year, which is the festive season. It would be available in two engine versions – 1.3 L diesel, and 1.4 L petrol. And each will have several trim levels for choosing the style which one wants to maintain. The Grande Punto will come end of this year or early next year…December or January…and we have still not decided about the price…that we will indicate once we near the launch.

Fiat had a major problem with after-sales service in India. How has the situation improved after tying up with Tata Motors?
You see, one of the reasons both partners have come together…we have decided to sell and distribute, and the after-sales support comes from Tata Motors…actually that is their strength in this area. At the moment we have 65 co-branded dealers all across India which are servicing Fiat cars. This number is going to go up to about a 100 by the year-end. These dealers and their mechanics have been fully trained in Fiat facilities at Ranjengaon to handle our cars. Supporting them is a very strong spare parts network, which Fiat has now established with Tata and the spare parts availability is becoming excellent now, and we hope to strengthen this area further.