Monday, January 23, 2012
By Manoj Kumawat
Fiat to launch Chrysler Jeep, Alfa Romeo and Maserati in India
Italian carmaker Fiat seems to be on the track of a comeback in the front row of car makers in India. Now, the Tata ally in India will be bringing in some cars of its lately acquired US car maker Chrysler.
Notably, Fiat has acquired a majority stake in Chrysler in 2009. Initially, Fiat plans to bring Chrysler Jeep, Alfa Romeo and Maserati in India. In addition to this, it is reportedly known that Chrysler has undergone intensive survey in India and has assessed a firm ground for its Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV. This SUV is of the likes of Toyota Fortuner, Ssangyong Rexton and Chevrolet Captiva and will be brought in India by Fiat.
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These attempts by the Italian car maker have been done revive its loosing grip in the Indian car market by increasing the number of product offerings. Presently, Fiat has only two offerings viz. Fiat Grande Punto and Fiat Linea sedan. Besides this Fiat is thinking of giving a second inning to Fiat 500 small car. Notably Fiat India is a 50-50 joint venture between Fiat and Tata Motors. According to sources, the new cars by Fiat will be brought to India independently by Fiat. The new Fiat owned Chrysler cars in India will be brought to India in a completely knocked down state and it will be assembled in India. Here, however, Fiat will be using Fiat-Tata JV product assembly unit at Ranjangaon, near Pune though on contract.
Interestingly, Fiat has been mute for some time and even at the Auto Expo held recently there was no energy shown by the Italian car maker. However, with these reports coming in, it seems that Fiat is buckling up its seat belts for a major ride. Experts believe that bringing in new products in India will be able to help Fiat do a comeback in India. However, the present sales tell a different story though.
