Fiat sells 4,600 units of Linea in January-March 2009
After years of dismal performance in India, Fiat just might be on the comeback trail now. The Italian car manufacturer's Indian arm sold more than 4,600 units of its new mid-size C-segment sedan - the Linea - in the January-March 2009 quarter.
Not only that, Fiat, along with joint-venture partner Tata Motors, will also be exporting the Linea from India to the UK, Australia, New Zealand and perhaps a few other right-hand-drive markets.
Fiat India also plans to increase the localisation levels in its cars. The company started with 55% locally sourced components for the Linea when it was launched in India in January this year, and in the four months since, this has already been increased to 65%. By the end of this year, Fiat hopes to increase localisation to more than 85%.
With new cars like the Linea and Grande Punto joining its India line-up, plus its older cars like the Palio Stile being facelifted, Fiat is gunning for aggressive growth in the Indian market.
Of course, Fiat cars have always had sound, solid mechanicals - problem areas have been quality control, parts availability, after-sales/service backup and some dealers which chose to implement dubious business practices.
[Via: indiaautomotive]