Notwithstanding the launches of Fiat Punto Evo (comprehensive facelift of Punto), Avventura, refreshed Linea, and an aggressive expansion of its own showroom network, Fiat India’s sales have been lackluster. November 2016 saw the Italian automaker’s ailing Indian subsidiary has registered its lowest monthly sales volume of just at a mere 266 units (232 units of Punto + Evo + Avventura, 8 units of Abarth, 26 units of Linea). Dec 2016 saw Fiat India sales at 390 units.
The bottom line – sales don’t appear to be in for a noteworthy boost in the near future as there is not much in the pipeline to keep buyers waiting. Lack of a wide product portfolio could be cited as one of the primary factors for Fiat India’s poor show. Currently it has only three mass market products – Punto, Avventura and Linea.
New Pricing Strategy
To bring back sales, Fiat India announced a massive cut in price of Punto, Linea and Avventura. Below is the new price range of the said Fiat cars-
| Fiat Range Price Realignment 2017 | |||
| Fiat Range | Old MSRP (INR) 2016 prices | New MSRP (INR) Effective: Jan 2, 2017 | Difference (INR) |
| Fiat Linea (Power Up) | |||
| 1.4 (P) Active | 782,126 | 725,000 | -57126 |
| 1.4 TJet (P) Emotion (125s) | 1,046,747 | 990,000 | -56747 |
| 1.3 Multijet (D) Active | 899,570 | 870,000 | -29570 |
| 1.3 Multijet (D) Dynamic | 995,407 | 940,000 | -55407 |
| 1.3 Multijet (D) Emotion | 1,076,121 | 999,000 | -77121 |
| Fiat Punto EVO (Power Up) | |||
| 1.2 (P) Dynamic | 585,568 | 545,000 | -40568 |
| 1.3 Multijet (D) Active | 681,117 | 640,000 | -41117 |
| 1.3 Multijet (D) Dynamic | 747,365 | 700,000 | -47365 |
| 1.3 Multijet (D) Emotion | 792,263 | 755,000 | -37263 |
| Fiat Avventura (Power Up) | |||
| 1.4 TJet (P) (by Abarth) | 1,036,678 | 999,000** | -37,678 |
| 1.3 Multijet (D) Active | 787,001 | 725,000** | -62,001 |
| 1.3 Multijet (D) Dynamic | 869,609 | 805,000** | -64,609 |
| 1.3 Multijet (D) Emotion | 928,556 | 875,000** | -53,556 |
| Fiat Urban Cross | |||
| 1.4 TJet (P) (by Abarth) | 985,000 | NA | |
| 1.3 Multijet (D) Active | 685,000 | NA | |
| 1.3 Multijet (D) Dynamic | 745,000 | NA | |
| 1.3 Multijet (D) Emotion | 815,000 | NA | |
| Note:
· All prices are ex-showroom, New Delhi and new prices are effective Jan 2, 2017 · Linea range cheaper by up to 7.3% · Punto EVO range cheaper by close to 7% · Urban Cross and Avventura prices were realigned during UC launch in 2016 · New prices of Avventura were applicable in the last quarter of 2016** | |||
Management Speak
Kevin Flynn – President and Managing Director, FCA India said, “2017 is a significant year for FCA as we enter a new phase of growth with both our brands – Fiat and Jeep. We want to make this the year of our transformation in our approach towards engaging with existing customers and winning new ones. This thought led us to start the new year by enhancing the value proposition on our feature-rich Linea and Punto EVO, as the first step. This year, we will move the needle on our sales and service network for which we have started implementing significant changes.”
One of the biggest boost for FCA India will be the fact that Jeep SUVs will become more affordable to India than ever before. Jeep is planning on making SUVs with as much as 90% localization levels. At least two new cars are in the pipeline, the Jeep Compass in the INR 15-20 lakh range and the compact Jeep SUV which will be a Maruti Vitara Brezza / Ford EcoSport rival.
FCA India is also currently working on improving its brand perception, and this has been successful thanks to Jeep launch earlier this year. In a nut shell, it’s high time for the automaker to ramp up its product portfolio in India significantly. After all India is projected to be the third largest auto market in the world by 2020 and Fiat Chrysler wouldn’t want to miss out on the surge.
News Release
Jeep Compass Photos
