Fiat India scripts turnaround plan

Fiat India director (commercial) Ravi Bharadwaj said,‘‘For Fiat India, this will be the year of consolidation. The company has already initiated several measures to contain costs.’’ In an attempt to increase sales apart from a greater indigenous component, Fiat has managed to reduce spare parts prices by 35 per cent. Bharadwaj added that the company was looking to becoming more customer-centric by increasing its service network with toll free numbers.

The driving objective will be to increase volumes. ‘‘We have set a target of selling 15,000 vehicles during this year,’’ Bharadwaj added. The company has also undertaken a ‘clinic study’ to foray into new segments. ‘‘The study has covered all the segments out of which the A+ segment has shown the greatest promise,’’ he added.

The findings of the study have already been forwarded to the headquarters in Turin for approval. ‘‘The car, likely to hit Indian roads, is the Fiat Panda,’’ explained Bharadwaj.

At present, both the plants of Fiat India at Kurla and Ranjangaon are underutilised; in fact Ranjangaon has had zero-production levels ever since the factory was completed. While the Kurla unit has a capacity to produce 55,000 vehicles per year, the Ranjangaon has a capacity to produce one lakh vehicles per annum. Once the company gets the go-ahead from Turin, the Ranjangaon unit is expected to begin production.

The company has stopped the production of its earlier cars — Uno and Siena. While it has recently launched Fiat Petra, the diesel powered sedan, it has also modified its Palio models. ‘‘Keeping in mind that fuel efficiency plays a vital role in the purchase decision of the Indian consumers, we have increased the fuel efficiency of Palio,’’ Bharadwaj pointed out. The new version Palio NV provides more mileage, with modification in the AC cooling systems and air-damp brakes.

Bharadwaj explained though the parent company Fiat, Italy, was in financial trouble some time back, it infused funds to the Indian company to the tune of over Rs 400 crore. Besides, the company has written off its accumulated loss of around Rs 1300 crore,’’ he added.