The Hindu Business Line : Fiat India preparing blueprint for expansion

Mr Ravi Bharadwaj, Director (Commercial), Fiat India, at the launch of the diesel C-segment Petra EL and ELX models in Bangalore on Wednesday. — Bhagya Prakash. K

Bangalore , Aug. 4

ITALIAN carmaker Fiat said on Wednesday that it is preparing a new blueprint for India to expand its operations. "We expect the blueprint to be out before the end of the year," the Fiat India Director (Commercial), Mr Ravi Bharadwaj, told presspersons on the sidelines of the launch of the diesel variant of Petra sedan.

He said the company had also written off accumulated losses worth Rs 1,300 crore as part of its move to clean up its balance sheet.

The blueprint will comprise new launch programmes and marketing strategies for future. "We have extremely good models in each of the segment and can bring it in any time," Mr Bharadwaj said.

According to market sources, Fiat is carrying out road test of its popular car Panda in India and based on the reports, it will take a decision to launch the car in the country.

Mr Bharadwaj however, ruled out introducing a model in the A segment. "At the prevailing price, it is not possible to compete effectively," he said.

The company expects to post revenues of around Rs 450 crore during the calendar year, the same as last year. Prices of most spare parts had been reduced while more service centres and dealerships would be opened soon. Fiat exported around 7-million-euros worth of spare parts during 2003 and it would be the same in 2004 too, he said.

With the introduction of Petra, the company expects to sell around 15,000 cars this year. During the first six months, it sold a total of 5,500 cars. To break even, it needs to sell around 20,000 annually.

The Fiat plant in India has a total capacity of around 65,000 units. It has so far invested around Rs 2,000 crore in its operations and has around 2,000 employees. The company holds over 99 per cent stake in the Indian venture while the rest is with Premier Automobile.

Mr Bharadwaj said the diesel market in India is expected to grow faster than the petrol models and hence the company will focus more on launching diesel variants. However, customers will continue to have the choice of both diesel and petrol versions.

He said South India is predominantly a diesel market and hence Fiat has decided to introduce all its diesel variants initially in the South. The 1.9-litre Petra diesel has been introduced in two variants — the EL model, which costs Rs 5.72 lakh and the ELX model priced at Rs 6.08 lakh.

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