[Rufus_M]

Originally Posted by carboy

I am not saying they are not serious. What I am saying they aren't in a position to be discriminating. People who have the resources to setup a dealership are also pretty discriminating.

Long back, I wanted a girlfriend who looked like Katrina Kaif. I was highly discriminating. Unfortunately, she also was very discriminating and wanted a boyfriend who looked like Salman Khan - so it didn't work out for me.

Dealers who are able to meet difficult stipulations will be able to get dealerships from a car company which actually manages to sell a few cars.

What a sad example :-(

Originally Posted by carboy

How is Chrysler a premium brand?
Also didn't Fiat already have premium cars like Fiat 500 earlier.

There are a lot of other Billion dollar MNCs with arms and tentacles spread all around the globe - like Ford, Chevrolet, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Volkswagon etc. So why would a dealer want to go with Fiat over any of the above?

Yeah. But they aren't competing with Yo-Bike for dealers. They are competing with Companies which are at least as big as them and at the same time already have a far better track record than them. I am sure Yo-Bike dealers may more than eager to get a Fiat Dealership.

There are a lot more brands which lesser than Maruti but far more than Fiat. However, if a dealer is hell bent on not selling much, Fiat is probably a good choice

The fact that there are takers for new dealerships should answer your question. Quite a good number of them are coming up. I was also kinda wondering why didn't the Fiat dealers go for Toyota, Maruti Suzuki etc. :-D

For some reason, Fiat is the most bashed brand. When they were in a JV with Tata, they were bashed. Now when they are making an honest effort (atleast looks so) by going solo, bashing continues.

[prakash_ajp]

Originally Posted by carboy

How is Chrysler a premium brand?

The same way Skoda is. Here in India have a very different meaning of premium. For most, any brand that they haven't heard of is a 'premium' brand!

[srivatsahg]

Another exclusive FIAT showroom Aadhya Motors planned inauguration on 18th January 2012. next to Shell Petrol Bunk, Near Mekhri Circle Bangalore

[sarathlal]

FIAT Group Automobiles India Pvt. Ltd inaugurated its exclusive world class dealership in Noida.

Kashyap Fiat, at C-18, Noida Phase II, will be FIAT’s first exclusive dealership in the NCR after the appointment of the Fiat Cafe’.

Next in line looks like Chennai.

Sources:
http://motoroids.com/news/fiat-india...aler-in-noida/
http://indianautosblog.com/2013/01/f...in-noida-60436

Mods: Can we update the thread title indicating that the plan is now in action?

[thoma]

Great news for Fiatians at Kottayam. Marikar, though I'm personally skeptical of this erstwhile Skoda dealer, is setting up a service center at Thellakom, Kottayam, which will be opening in the coming month. They are setting shop at the place where EVM Nissan used to have a small display and service opposite the Chaithanya Center on the MC Road. Now, EVM Nissan has moved out to a bigger set up a couple of meters away.

I had called up the number provided in an ad by Fiat in today's paper and he was confident in answering my queries in the type of service they provide. They will be doing all sort of service including accident repairs. They will also be setting up a showroom and service center opposite Malayala Manorama at Kodimatha within 6 months. There has been a mention of Marikar Pathanamthitta too in the ad, which I forgot to inquire about.

[MihirC]

Originally Posted by carboy

How is Chrysler a premium brand?
Also didn't Fiat already have premium cars like Fiat 500 earlier.

Just out of curiosity, could you please elaborate which are the premium brands of cars available in India?

Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Skoda, Renault, Nissan or the European company whose name itself means Peoples car? We in India have a peoples car company called Maruti Suzuki and it is just that. It caters to people of varying budgets making sure their cars can be afforded by most and they are good at it. Catering to masses from 2 lakhs to 20 lakhs, thats what peoples car is all about IMHO.

Dear Sir, the on road pricing of the car doesent determine if its a Premium brand, and neither does the number of sales. In a country like India where initially we were exposed to only HM and FIAT, when Honda was launched, since it was a new or foreign brand was "perceived" as a premium brand, the same goes for all the companies I have listed above. The Indian automobile industry is still in its developing stages and hence irrespective whether the company or the brand is Premium, is determined on the perception of people.

FYI, from my experience when I was in the UK for a couple of years, 8 years ago, even Audi was not not considered as a Premium brand.

Cheers.

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by thoma

Great news for Fiatians at Kottayam. Marikar

This is probably a sign of things to come, shoddy dealers of Skoda taking over Fiat service. Fiat isn't going anywhere with this lot. I am sure existing Fiat owners will look for other cars once these guys get a monopoly on service.

Marikkar is probably the worst of the lot in terms of ethics and capability, most Skoda owners will have something to share about their tactics.

[MaddyCrew]

Originally Posted by carboy

There are a lot of other Billion dollar MNCs with arms and tentacles spread all around the globe - like Ford, Chevrolet, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Volkswagon etc. So why would a dealer want to go with Fiat over any of the above?

Yeah. But they aren't competing with Yo-Bike for dealers. They are competing with Companies which are at least as big as them and at the same time already have a far better track record than them. I am sure Yo-Bike dealers may more than eager to get a Fiat Dealership.

There are a lot more brands which lesser than Maruti but far more than Fiat. However, if a dealer is hell bent on not selling much, Fiat is probably a good choice

I was also wondering the same when news came out that FIAT is setting up exclusive dealerships. Even in their second Indian outing, FIAT has not been successful (so far) - despite having quite a few brilliant cars in the line up.

I guess we should give them another chance to change for good, instead of continuing the incessant bashing . Let us not underestimate the business acumen of the FIAT management/ dealers who are currently signing up for these new dealerships. If they wanted to, FIAT could have chosen to wind up their car sales and still rake in good profits just by selling their engines. No offense meant, but I don't think that these guys are dumb enough to put their money into something unless they are sure about ROI.

Just my two cents!!

[parrys]

FIAT Group Automobiles India Pvt. Ltd today inaugurated its exclusive 18,000 sq ft dealership at Hira Bagh, Rajpura Road, Patiala. The dealership was inaugurated by Mr. Enrico Atanasio, MD of FIAT Group Automobiles India Pvt. Ltd.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Enrico Atanasio, MD- FIAT Group Automobiles India Pvt. Ltd said: “FIAT India views Patiala as a very strategic market and the inauguration of an exclusive dealership is in accordance with our strategy to capitalise on this potential. We are confident that our association with Sandeep Autos will play a crucial role in identifying the customer base and enhancing customer experience in Patiala. With Sandeep Autos, we are associated with a partner who has close to 30 years of experience and market knowledge of the automobile trade”

Sandeep Autos is well known for their commitment to service through their previous dealerships of Daewoo Motors and current two wheeler dealerships of Honda and Piaggio.

[bnzjon]

Fiat’s exclusive Chennai dealership 'RDC Fiat' was inaugurated by Mr. Enrico Atanasio, MD of Fiat India

Next in line is Cochin and Thrissur in the first week of February.

Read these Q&A in IAB on the sidelines of Chennai centre inaguration

Q: During the press conference in December, Abarth was mentioned for India. Would you have standalone Abarth showrooms?

A: We will be combining it with Fiat in Fiat showrooms.

Q: By repositioning, will the Linea Classic be the facelifted Linea or the current Linea be repositioned?

A: We will talk about that in due course, when we launch the product. Right now it is a little premature. In the Classic we will have some significant changes which we need to discuss in detail once that will be available. Now accept the fact that I have one year to do another job which is the network, then we will talk about the product.

Q: You have spoken about the replacement for the Linea and Punto as well. So are those all new products?

A: They will be new models. There will be major changes.

Q: You have also spoken about the B Segment SUV in the product sheet. Would your SUV be a hatchback with a rough road package? (Increasing the ground clearance and adding rugged looking bumpers and plastic fittings)

A: I think that (SUV product) has a soft SUV type look. The customer is appreciating those. When the customer is appreciating there is room for that.

Q: Do you think that it can lock horns with EcoSport and Duster which are complete SUV top hats on hatchback platforms?

A: Reality is that I believe there will be combination of things to be done. Definitely we have a brand that is dedicated to SUV which is Jeep. With that brand we will go with a completely different and separate product (referring to Jeep’s B Segment SUV). With the brand Fiat we will have an enrichment through that type of product with which we respond to some customer requirements. So there is room for both type of vehicles in the market

[21Archer84]

OT: Guys, good news to the Jeep fans. The Wrangler and Grand Cherokee have landed in Pune and the internal unofficial news is that they are waiting for the Registration to be done. They will be out soon and keep your eyes wide open if around Pune as Initial road tests would be carried here.
Hope we'll have some pictures soon.

Mods: Request to move it to relevant thread, as I didn't find any thread specific to Jeeps and hence sharing here.

[nkg77]

Fiat has set a target of 25,000 units this year, by ramping up its distribution network and launching new models. All the best Fiat

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/18184446.cms

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by nkg77

Fiat has set a target of 25,000 units this year, by ramping up its distribution network and launching new models. All the best Fiat

Quite an uphill task, to be frank. Wish them success! Between, what are the new models? I thought all that they get will be refreshed Linea & Punto.

Would be really interesting to watch how good their marketing team is! It's a do or die for them. I hope to see some stunning out of the world ideas.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Quite an uphill task, to be frank. Wish them success! Between, what are the new models? I thought all that they get will be refreshed Linea & Punto.

Would be really interesting to watch how good their marketing team is! It's a do or die for them. I hope to see some stunning out of the world ideas.

They are targeting 25,000 per year with the refreshed Punto (EVO) and refreshed Linea (Classic) which should not be a tough task actually. With 100 dealerships coming in this year, that's 250 per dealer which translates into roughly 21 cars a month. Not a bad target to start off with.

Their marketing team needs to work harder than what they are currently doing to achieve this.

[S.MJet]

Originally Posted by nkg77

Fiat has set a target of 25,000 units this year, by ramping up its distribution network and launching new models. All the best Fiat

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Quite an uphill task, to be frank. Wish them success! Between, what are the new models? I thought all that they get will be refreshed Linea & Punto.

Well, with upcoming exclusive dealerships, it is right to set that kind of targets.
Whether they can achieve this with marketing push, refreshed models, new launches or mix of all is a thing to be watched out.