Indian Autos blog

The Indian operation of Fiat is ready to take the brand to the next level, but to do so, it needs at least 18 months.

Recently Fiat ended its joint venture with Tata Motors at the retail level wherein Fiat branded models were sold at 166 Tata-Fiat showrooms across 126 cities. The joint venture continues to exist in the manufacturing level but Fiat is working on a new retail plan of independent dealers.

Fiat India has launched a new variant of the Punto, dubbed Fiat Punto Sport, at the inauguration of the Fiat Caffe in Pune. The Punto Sport is priced at 7.36 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Fiat India is in the process of expanding its new dealership network after the break-up with Tata Motors on the retail front. Fiat is also working on bringing up more Caffe outlets across India, right now it is present only in Delhi and Pune. There are only 12 Fiat Caffes around the world and India already has two of them!

Update – We’ve posted the brochure of the Fiat Punto Sport after the break. It will be marketed as India’s most powerful hatchback. Its 1.3-liter MJD engine produces 93PS @ 4,000 RPM and 209Nm @ 2,000 RPM.

Fiat will inaugurate India’s second Fiat Caffe outlet in Pune this evening and on this special occasion, the Italian company, in the middle of a reshuffle, is previewing the Punto Sport variant.

click through for brochure

Yet another car will flaunt the magnificent Fiat MultiJet engine in India. Yes, we are talking about the Premier Rio, India’s first SUV for under 5 lakhs. As expected Premier has re-kindled its partnership with Fiat to source the Fiat MultiJet engine for the Rio and Rio+.

Under the agreement, Fiat will supply 28,000 engines to Premier for the next 3 years. The assembled diesel engines from Fiat’s Ranjangaon plant will be supplied to Premier’s factory at Chinchwad, Pune

The Fiat Viaggio or Fei Xiang as it is called in China was spotted being tested undercover for the first time outside Chinese borders. The test mules were spotted in Naples, Italy by Quattroruote.it.

Though Fiat has not made an official announcement, sources suggest that the Viaggio would be exported from China to selected European cities. Fiat is said to be secretly working on the same platform to churn out a 5-door hatch which would take the place of the Bravo by next year.

Twitter has been used for celebrity rants, assisting charitable organizations, updating sports scores, breaking news stories, and drawing the world closer.

But have companies used it as a medium to sell goods? Fiat has!

That’s right, Fiat used Twitter to carry out an auction for its Fiat 500 America Limited Edition. Note that this is not a car for America even if the name suggests so. It is a special edition vehicle launched in Europe.

The facelift of the Fiat Linea is beginning to grow on us as we browse through more photographs, different colors and see it in motion.

Sure it does not have the elegance of the India-spec model but we get the feeling that it looks much better in flesh, though we haven’t seen one yet!

click through for more photographs

Ever since teasers of the Fiat Viaggio appeared on pages of the Indian media, auto enthusiasts have set their eyes on the upcoming Fiat model waiting expectantly for an announcement from Fiat India.

Today we have news from the Middle Kingdom that the Italian fashion house car maker will introduce the Viaggio in September. There are no immediate plans to sell the Viaggio outside China. Essentially the Viaggio is a rebadged Dodge Dart. The styling team, standing up to its reputation, has executed an exceptional makeover. They don’t feel appear like twins of badge engineering.