Monday, August 11, 2014
By Jitendra Singh
Fiat to focus on luxury cars, Maserati on cards of company for India
Italy's Fiat Group is finalising plans to launch its high-end sports car Maserati in India as it seeks to grab a larger slice of the country's surging demand for luxury cars. A person with direct knowledge of the company's plans said it is hoping that Maserati's rollout on the Indian roads will also help Fiat consolidate its brand in the country.
"A team from Maserati's global headquarters visited India in recent months. They had met potential dealers," this person said on condition of anonymity. The Italian carmaker plans to open exclusive company-owned stores in major cities. "The company has a plan to start with maybe two or three bigsize dealers in metros like Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore," the person quoted above said.
But Nagesh Basavanhalli, president and managing director at Fiat Chrysler India, said it is "too early to comment" on Maserati's India launch. "We are under lots of discussions for bringing exciting stuff from our international portfolio, though we are yet to freeze our plans," he told ET. The 100-year-old Maserati brand is part of Fiat's international luxury portfolio, which also includes Ferrari and Alfa Romeo.
Read complete story at Economic Times.
