Tags:
Journalism of Courage
MUMBAI, JULY 28: Italian numero Uno auto giant, Fiat, has decided not to keep Mumbaikars waiting any longer, with its decision to step up production and kick-start bookings in the second phase for its coveted Fiat Siena immediately. Enthused by the demand, Fiat Auto says it will, in fact, erase the backlog for its luxury model by August 15.
The Siena had generated maximum response from Mumbaikars, who were looking for a luxury car with an inexpensive price-tag. The company had booked around 2,000 orders in the first phase and is currently manufacturing the car at its Kurla plant by importing kits from abroad.
Though Mumbai lags far behind New Delhi in automobile sales, Fiat officials say they are happy with the response from the city. The company has invested over Rs 1,000 crore in its takeover of the Doshis’s Kurla plant and has modernised it with the latest technology and work culture.
“We did not want any problems with deliveries. Unlike the competition (read Telco’s Indica), which is unable to meetdelivery deadlines, we are increasing production to meet the growing demand,” Fiat officials told The Indian Express.
Though Fiat itself has not accepted any booking amount from Siena customers, orders were accepted by dealers for a token payment of Rs 1 lakh. This is in accordance with Fiat’s policy of safeguarding the interests of both customers and dealers, officials say.
The Siena will compete head-on with the Honda City, whose sales are gradually losing momentum and also with market leader Maruti Esteem. Of the 2,000 bookings, Siena has not received a single cancellation which is an achievement considering the over 50 per cent cancellations in Uno bookings, company officials point out. In the first quarter of the current fiscal, the company had 4,641 unit cars, which includes the Siena model.
Fiat Uno is fast becoming the preferred vehicle for the cool cab segment in Mumbai, replacing the Premier Padmini 1.37D. New cool cab owners, who till recently chose only the diesel car of PremierAutomobiles, are gradually switching over to the Uno as there has been a scarcity of the Premier 1.37Ds, production of which has fallen sharply in recent months.
The company is now sprucing up its Kurla plant for the launch of its Palio model, which is expected to hit the road by the end of the current fiscal.
Construction at its Ranjangaon plant to be set up by Fiat’s 100 per cent subsidiary — FIAL — has begun with all the sheds and civil works in place. But the company has put its plans to make the Palio from there on hold. However, Fiat’s training school and export centre has already commenced operations there.
FIAL plans to launch hatchback and station-wagon version of the Palio in India. Both the Siena and Palio are part of the world car projects of Fiat and share the same platform and a number of major components.
Fiat would shift out production lines of the Siena and Palio to Ranjangaon, which will have a production capacity of 1,00,000 cars a year, once the factory is ready. The company isalso giving itself four years of operations to break even for its Indian arm, identified as one of the key markets in the world.
