The prototypes of the first-ever made-for-India car from Italian auto giant Fiat SpA will arrive in India in a year’s time for extensive road trials. The results and feedback from the trials will lead to the final round of tweaking before Fiat India Automobiles begins manufacturing the small car at its Ranjangaon facility.
Fiat India president and CEO Rajeev Kapoor said the small car to be positioned between the A and B segments was already off the drawing board.
He said
The small car — conceived for the Indian market — has been designed at Fiat’s legendary design studio in Turin. There are several steps between the drawing board to actual production-grade vehicles. The car will definitely be launched in 2011
Sources said a clay model had already been prepared and prototypes were on the way. The engine, with a 700-1,000cc capacity, has also been designed and is currently being tested in India to make suitable changes to adapt to the country’s driving conditions. “We are adapting the engine to Indian specifications to ensure that it delivers optimum power and mileage,” said Roberto Dalmasso, manager at the engineering centre of Fiat Powertrain Technologies, a Fiat group company that develops powertrains for cars, trucks, boats and gensets.
Explaining the car’s positioning, Kapoor said it would be higher than A segment Maruti 800 and lower than B segment Maruti Wagon-R and Hyundai Santro.
Referring to the car’s positioning vis-a-vis Nano, he said
As per our agreement with manufacturing and marketing partner Tata Motors, Fiat India will introduce non-competing products in a more premium segment. The Linea is positioned above the Manza; the Grande Punto above Indica Vista. The new mass market small car will be similarly placed.
Sources said the car would be somewhere close to Maruti Alto or the proposed Renault-Bajaj small car that will is also slated to go into production in 2011.
The prototypes of the first-ever made-for-India car from Italian auto giant Fiat SpA will arrive in India in a year’s time for extensive road trials. The results and feedback from the trials will lead to the final round of tweaking before Fiat India Automobiles begins manufacturing the small car at its Ranjangaon facility.
Fiat India president and CEO Rajeev Kapoor said the small car to be positioned between the A and B segments was already off the drawing board. He said
The small car — conceived for the Indian market — has been designed at Fiat’s legendary design studio in Turin. There are several steps between the drawing board to actual production-grade vehicles. The car will definitely be launched in 2011.
Sources said a clay model had already been prepared and prototypes were on the way. The engine, with a 700-1,000cc capacity, has also been designed and is currently being tested in India to make suitable changes to adapt to the country’s driving conditions. “We are adapting the engine to Indian specifications to ensure that it delivers optimum power and mileage,” said Roberto Dalmasso, manager at the engineering centre of Fiat Powertrain Technologies, a Fiat group company that develops powertrains for cars, trucks, boats and gensets.
Explaining the car’s positioning, Kapoor said it would be higher than A segment Maruti 800 and lower than B segment Maruti Wagon-R and Hyundai Santro.
“As per our agreement with manufacturing and marketing partner Tata Motors, Fiat India will introduce non-competing products in a more premium segment. The Linea is positioned above the Manza; the Grande Punto above Indica Vista. The new mass market small car will be similarly placed,” he said, referring to the car’s positioning vis-a-vis Nano. Sources said the car would be somewhere close to Maruti Alto or the proposed Renault-Bajaj small car that will is also slated to go into production in 2011.
Source - TOI, Bangalore
MODS - Please change the title of the thread to 2011 (from 2012).
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I've never come across the word CNG in Tamilnadu. Fiat should work on LPG model, i hope its available on all parts of India.
It will be Palio CNG.
![[:D]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Big%20Smile.gif "Big Smile [:D]")
BTW the steering is also in the left side!!
