MUMBAI, NOV 4: Alarmed over falling sales of its Uno, Italian car maker Fiat SpA is planning a major revamp of its operations before it launches its latest offering, the Palio by July next year. A revamped dealership, new marketing plans alongwith a brand new management, led by a new managing director are some of the highlights of Fiat's plans for India. The Palio is expected to roll out with a localisation of 95 per cent and hence its launch delayed from the last quarter of calender 2000 to mid-2001.Fiat India, which aims to break-even after rolling out Palio, proposes to sellmore than 10,000 cars in its first year. The hatchback member from the Fiat stable, Palio has already had its world launch. According to the incoming Fiat India Managing Director M P Bianchi: "The car has received encouraging response from the Latin American markets, especially Brazil and Argentina." "We are planning a complete restructuring of our dealership network and marketing before the Palio launch. That is our first priority," Bianchi said. The company, which currently has around 50 dealers, is also planning a significant hike in its advertising budget to drive up sales. Bianchi, who takes over from G B Ravina, was previously plant director at Termine Imerese, Italy. Ravina will take over as the global HRD head of Case New Holland, Chicago. The delay in the Palio launch appears to be due to Fiat's efforts to indigenise some parts to make it competitive in the small car segment. Analysts feel that the Palio may be priced slightly at a premium compared to the Indica. Fiat India new Commercial Director Raoul Picello said Fiat Uno sells around 600 units per month, which the company plans to increase to 1000 units in the near future. In the mid-size car segment, Siena Weekend, which the company launched in August is selling around 100 units per month. The company proposes to sell 1,200 Siena Weekend in a year. Siena Weekend has a localisation level of 40 per cent which the compnayhopes to increase to about 65-70 per cent over a period of time. Picello who took over three months ago as the director commercial from Enrico Ferrero said, "We are currently operating our Kurla plant on a single shift. I plan to first look into the plant-level operations." Moreover, Fiat India would introduce a 1.6 litre petrol variant of its mid-sized car Siena in early 2001. The new petrol version, which would sport the same engine that powers Fiat's just-introduced station wagon, Siena Weekend.
