Fiat has had a forgettable run in the last few years in the Indian market. The automaker is currently facing huge losses as a brand here in India. In an immediate response, Fiat are reportedly planning to discontinue the Linea and Punto from their line-up here.
Fiat Punto and Linea likely to be pull-off the shelves owing to their inability to meet the upcoming safety and emission norms.
Their variants, namely the Abarth Punto, Avventura and the Urban Cross, are more likely to follow soon. This will be a major blow to Fiat’s enthusiasts and car lovers in India. On the upside, the brand can take note the good response to the Jeep brand launched last year.
Jeep is registering decent sales numbers every month and are planning a slew of affordable products for the future. Coming back to Fiat, it is a far cry from their glory days ranging from the 1960’s to the 1980’s. The Italian automaker was known as a lifestyle brand during that time, but now it seems like a distant memory.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is concentrating its resources on the Jeep brand on the Indian market.
One of the reasons for its decline is the inability to adapt according to the market needs. For instance, when India developed a craze for SUV’s, Fiat did not have any response and were selling models based on the Punto’s platform. Another reason could be the lack of knowledge of Indian market, resulting in the launch of a few tad-expensive products.
There were rumours that Fiat would be bringing a mid-size SUV to compete with the likes of the Hyundai Creta and the Nissan Kicks, but now it may not take place. Fiat will be the second brand in two years, after General Motors, to exit the Indian market if they plan to do so. This could be a blow to India as the Indian automobile market is on the verge of being the third largest market in the world by 2020.
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Also see: Fiat India resumes production of the Abarth Punto
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
