Now it's the turn of Fiat to unleash its supermini, the Grande Punto, in to the Indian market. The Italian beauty is likely to be priced around Rs 6.5 lakh (Rs 650,000).
Fiat India Automobiles Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture between Italy-based Fiat SpA and domestic auto major Tata Motors, plans to position the car in the premium hatchback segment along with Maruti Suzuki's Ritz, Hyundai's i20, Skoda's Fabia and to be launched Honda Siel's Jazz, the company said.
The price increase by 2-2.5 per cent will be effective from January 1 next year.
Fiat India has added a sports edition model to their hatchback model lineup.
It will be prices between Rs 506,000 and Rs 775,000.
The Italian car company Fiat's much-awaited launch of the year, Grande Punto hatchback, which is expected to take on Maruti Suzuki's Swift and Hyundai's Getz, will not be priced close to the two models.
The company is looking to exploit the upper B+ segment, which has seen high demand growth since the launch of Maruti's Swift, followed by several models like the Hyundai i20, Fiat Grande Punto, Maruti Ritz, Volkswagen Polo and Nissan Micra.
The eagerness to own a compact fast car has gone up and manufacturers have their hands full keeping pace with these demands.
The company expects sales to cross 27,000 units this year on the back of newly launched small car Grande Punto and sedan Linea.
The company on Friday rolled out the Linea from the plant at Ranjangaon near Pune in Maharashtra, from where production of the car began. The company also announced major export plans for its seven-year-old model Palio, being manufactured at the car assembly and powertrain engines plant at Ranjangaon.
Fiat India Automobiles Ltd, a 50-50 JV between Fiat Group Automobiles and Tata Motors Ltd, has sold 10,000 units of its sedan, Linea, since its launch in January this year.
New car launches in the past six months have driven sales growth despite a hike in vehicle financing. In April, new launches accounted for 17 per cent of over all sales.
The new cars which have been launched in the last six months include the Zen Estilo from Maruti, Hyundai Getz diesel, Spark from General Motors, Logan from Mahindra Nissan and Fiat Palio Stile.
"We will launch the CNG variant of the Palio by early next year," Fiat India President and CEO Rajeev Kapoor told PTI on Wednesday. The car is currently available in both petrol and diesel variants. The company has also planned a slew of car launches in the next 12 months starting with the introduction of '500' next month.
Fiat is riding the New 500 wave across Europe since its July 2007
Despite the romance around the car and its early models, Fiat in India will also be remembered as a brand that frittered away the first mover advantage, says Shally Seth Mohile.
The luxury SUVs will compete against models of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Volvo, Porsche and Land Rover
The German picked up two ATP titles in Cologne and also made the final of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris in an encouraging close to the season.
Audi India launched the second generation 2016 Audi R8 at the show.
About two dozen car & SUV models and two-wheelers lined up for launch
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