In 2012, Fiat India plans to refresh the Punto for the Indian market. The refreshed Punto will be sold in standalone dealerships across 20 cities. The reworked retail strategy will keep the customer’s attention on the Punto which could decrease bounce rates.
The liveliness or vivacity of Punto or the Linea has not eroded and the Italian lines have only got better with time and changing environment. But it is a common practice for car manufacturers to keep their products updated. Competition has emerged in forms of the refreshed Swift and the ‘oh so beautiful’ Fluidic Verna. Both the Linea and Punto hence will go under the surgeon’s knife next year.
Fiat India has two options to choose from. They can bring down the Evo variant (outgoing model) or opt for the refreshed variant showcased at Frankfurt’s IAA. Though isn’t a drastic step forward from the original the facelift will go hand in hand with the inauguration of new dealerships. It will give people another reason or purpose to visit the newly opened stores.
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Fiat India will be planning to facelift its two pillar offerings Linea and Punto in 2012. The Linea was put on the market back in January 2009 and the Punto followed about six months later. Over the last two years, both vehicles have received unpublicized mechanical improvements and powerful petrol variants.
The talk in town is that Fiat is mulling independent/exclusive dealerships in 2012. With new showrooms, Fiat has to present new products to get maximum traction. Fiat could start the lives of these two important cars in their facelifted form at stand-alone dealer points.
Whichever the case is the Linea and Punto would have completed three years in India in 2012. At this point, most car manufacturers opt for a cosmetic revamp to stay updated and give themselves another reason to invite customers and media to talk about their product. Since Punto’s launch, we have seen many new small cars and the next six months will see a few more.
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The Fiat Punto’s a wonderful creation in the world of automobiles. With regular cleaning and care, it seems like the pinnacle of charm.
Click HERE to see how NOT to wash your Fiat Punto
Click HERE to see how NOT to wash your Fiat Punto
Click HERE to see how NOT to wash your Fiat Punto
Click HERE to see how NOT to wash your Fiat Punto
Got a Punto or a Linea? Does the AC take a lot of time to cool? Its not the Indian weather, turns out it is the AC unit itself. But worry no more, Fiat has learnt that and it will be replacing Air condition kits of petrol powered Linea and Punto Fiat India spokesperson – We received complaints mostly from the north and some western parts of the country that [ Read More ]
The invitations for the launch of a new Fiat Punto variant “90hp Multijet” have been issued. The vehicle will be launched on the 16th of this month in Delhi.
Fiat terms this model “The most powerful diesel hatchback (in India)”
The reason for the rise in power is due to the addition of a VGT to the 1.3-liter common-rail diesel engine. Additions to the new model come in the form of chrome door handles, red stitching seat borders and a white Punto logo.
We have long been awaiting the launch of the 90 hp Fiat Grande Punto Diesel which was showcased at the 2010 Auto Expo in New Delhi.
We called up Fiat regarding its launch and they said -
We will launch the “Fiat Punto 90hp” in India on the 16th of July. We will not call it Sports
The Fiat Punto 1.3 liter Multijet diesel engine came only with an ordinary turbocharger and produced 76 hp. This engine along with an unpleasant gearbox played spoilsport on the Punto’s drive. Now Fiat would give an upgrade to Punto’s 1.3 liter Multi-jet engine by adding a VGT (Variable Geometry Turbocharger) from the Linea sedan.
With the addition of the VGT, the Grande Punto’s power would be boosted to 90 hp and torque to 209 Nm. We expect Fiat to slightly tweak the gearbox to bring down the tall gear ratios and induce some linearity in the gear ratios. There would be no external differences between the Punto 90 hp and the regular Puntos but for the ’90 hp’ badge beneath the variant’ badge (Emotion). The car could also come with clear lens rear tail lamps.
The 90 hp Fiat Punto could be priced slightly higher than the ordinary Punto and we guess Fiat would be offering the 90 hp engine only on the top of the line ‘Emotion’ and ‘Emotion Pack’ variants.
Fiat, in spring 2013 is all set to unveil the all new next generation Fiat Punto hatchback. The Punto is a very significant and important model for Fiat as it is the car that single handedly rescued Fiat from a mountain of losses and brought it back in green.
Come 2013, and the current generation Fiat Punto would have been in the market for seven years, surely the right time then for Fiat to be bringing in the next generation all new Punto. The next generation Punto like the current Punto, will continue to be offered in 3 and 5 door versions, but with an all new, fully renovated platform and chassis.
The next generation Punto will not just be a restyling of the current car, but will be a completely new car developed from the ground up. The project designers of the next generation Punto, should have working on the car at the Fiat style centre in Italy.
The engines for the next generation Punto will consist of some engines borrowed from the current Punto’s range of engines while the new range of Multijet engines could also power the car.
The news that we’re breaking here on Indian Autos Blog is not on the 90hp Fiat Punto launching on the first week of July, but it not being called “Punto Sports” as we believed earlier.
Indian Autos Blog contacted Fiat India, and this is their reply to our query on the powerful Punto -
The 90hp Fiat Punto will not be called Sports. It will be launched during the first week of July.
When we asked them about the Fiat Linea T-Jet which comes with a turbocharged 1.4-liter petrol engine, this was their reply -
The Fiat Linea T-Jet will be launched in India a month later.
Fiat’s sales numbers isn’t calling for celebrations. The company launched the Linea and Punto last year, and the sales have not been extremely good. But one thing has to be agreed on – Fiat has entered people’s choice list prepared before going in for a car. Could the powerful Fiats help in grabbing more numbers?
In 2012, Fiat India plans to refresh the Punto for the Indian market. The refreshed Punto will be sold in standalone dealerships across 20 cities. The reworked retail strategy will keep the customer’s attention on the Punto which could decrease bounce rates.
