Fiat India - Sales Thread

i think this is better-"Fiat-buy at your own risk" :lol:

 

Hey Yashik, thanks for pics and video link. Never knew about this!

 

Heck even I love drivig GP in NFS-MW. After driving one in NFS I was not able to drive any other car in game comfortably. Even in game Punto is best handling car.
The GP in NFS can do a top speed of 381 km/hr and is stable at that speed too.

 

Fiat has always missed the bus thanks to their poor understanding of the market.

The Palio, specially the GTX, was way ahead of it's time. GTX even came with ABS and Airbags at a time when even a 10 Lakh rupee City didn't have them. Then there was the engine. Fiat gave it a 1.6L 100bhp engine at a time when million rupee car's like Astra came with 90 odd bhp, even Ikon and Accent had 90 odd bhp. It was a hatch with a 1.6L engine at a time when 1.1L was the norm in hatchbacks. Naturally they burnt their fingers with it. Fiat also failed to position the Palio 1.2 correctly. The build quality penalised fuel efficiency (apart from the Italians failing to recaliberate the speedo which resulted in lesser mileage!!) at a time when no body cared for build quality, ride , suspension etc. Most people still don't!

Cut to 2010. The market has matured to some extent. People are willing to accept a 100bhp hatch but as they say 'someone that's burnt their mouth drinking hot milk will blow even cold buttermilk before drinking'. Fiat should have brought in the 90bhp MJD and petrol Punto from day one. T-Jet should have followed a year later followed by the 1.6 MJD another 6 months after the T-Jet launch. For Linea, they should have launched the 90bhp MJD and T-Jet petrol from day one. 1.6 MJD should have followed a year later. There is nothing wrong with these engines. Sure they are underpowered, heavy weight of the car with the poor gear ratio's are the main culprits rather then the engine's themselves IMO. Maybe they should have been tuned better.

What Fiat needs to understand is that both the Punto and Linea, specially the Punto, look very sporty and purposeful. Good engines will only be sone pe suhaga for these cars. The T-Jet can be tuned to produce various power outputs so why not launch the Linea and Punto T-Jet with 118 and 130bhp versions? The 130 bhp version can get sport seats, spoilers, skirts a la S10. Fiat has the fire power why dont' they use them?! Bottom line is, people will happily pay for a 130bhp Punto rather then pay for a 130bhp Swift. Try it Fiat. It's a pity you dont' understand your own products, their image and your buyers. No wonder you are where you are today. Don't follow Maruti & Hyundai. People don't expect volume cars from you. Position yourself a little higher then these cars. Ask for more money. But give us better engines and interiors. Punto is a young car. It's a car a single guy or a newly married couple would buy. Swift is a car that a newly married couple in a joint family would buy. That is the difference.

Imagine a T-Jet petrol with good interiors for the price of a top end i20 Crdi. Which one would you buy?

 

Amit,

You are spot on with your observation. FIAT needs to read such suggestions and implement such advices in a hurry or a they may miss another bus !. Apply for a consultant job in FIAT india. Your desperations are bringing out brilliant observations !!

Abdul

 

is there anyway to contact Fiat Italy so that we can discuss problems directly with Mr. Sergio Marchhione CEO of Fiat. what needs to be done for its indian arm.

 

Sumit of www.fiat.com there is a contact us link. Maybe you can try that and see if you get a response

 

IMHO, the only thing left for Fiat to do is bring in aggressive price correction :steering . Right now, 1.3 MJD FGT/VGT is placed far beyond the reach of mass market. Fiat must keep 90bhp as niche and start throat cutting pricing war on other variants :twisted: . 1.2 active should be brought down to position between Swift and i10.

Here's a look at various contenders

Fiat
1.2 active 4.35
1.3 active 5.2
1.4 no active variant.

Maruti
Swift 1.2 LXi 4.27
LDi 4.98

Ritz 1.2 LXi 4.1
Ritz LDi 4.8

Hyundai i10 1.2 kappa 4.1

Vista Safire 3.54

Ford
Figo duratec 3.58
duratorq diesel 4.58

(all prices from carwale.com)
Facts are clear. The cheapest Fiat (1.2 active) is costlier than the costliest competitor (Swift 1.2). In case of 1.3 also, the story remains the same. So the prospective buyer thinks, this is the costliest car, do I get the bang for the buck. Answer is NO. The competition, through paid advertising and effective management, has created tags of poor plastics and underpowered. So the buyer is already thinking: Itna mehnga hai, power bhi nahin aur finish bhi nahin.

Fact is, as a package, Fiat outscores the competitor on many fronts, but the "paisa vasool" public is not going to look at the package. Bare bones 1.2 active and 1.3 active need to be positioned close to the market leaders to reap best benefits.
Fiat has gained an entry into buying list, now is the time to push for consolidation into top three contenders in that prospective list. Ford has done it beautifully, Fiat too must cut down the prices.