what ails Fiat India more: poor products or dismal service.

to all Fiat fans: tell me if I am wrong.
I love fiat cars, give me a Palio any day and id drive it for the pleasure it offers, they sure tug some special strings in your heart, but whether I want to buy one, i doubt it. I guess its the same with many. else Fiat wouldnt fare this bad. agreed Fiat cars are over engineered and indestructible, and have the best ride and handling, this apart, everything  else in them is less than ordianary. Fiat somehow has not understood the Indian customer well, their cars are not packaged well, either over packaged or under packaged. They dont stike a balance. I mean look, the palio and/ or petra came with a powerfull engine but a gas guzzler, and a grossly underpowered engine which though good wasnt enough. what if both power and mileage was required, no, you have to compromise. though they make the best engines in the world and outsource some, Im sure they have high tech technology at their disposal to produce small efficient motors. take for instance the Interiors, there are niggling electrical issues, teething problems with dash vibration or nuts falling off. or low quality  plastics. why cant they balance it out by giving attention to all details than over engineering somethings and ignoring others as crucial. they have their basics right. brilliant handling and chasis, and Fiat has access to the best QC and technology. owners of premium cars Ferrari, maserati, I blame fiat for the poor products they offer. Honestly if Fiat came with brilliant cars in all respects, I mean engines, Interiors, QC, comfort, handling, steering, reliability... but had dismal service support I'd still go and buy one. Driving it would make me forget the pain at the service center and if quality assured, there will be fewer problems in the fisrt place. But with its product range you have to compromise with everything else just for driving pleasure. If two things get right, five things go wrong.
However with the Linea Fiat tries to strike the right cord. linea carries the best interiors in a Fiat, (sorry even puntos interior plastics and design isnt great), great chasis, decent power trains, and chiselled exterior.
Is it their cost cutting tactics or the govt legislations that compromise their products. I read somewhere that the Jazz and Punto are simillarly priced in Europe (please correct me if wrong). If thats so, by providing lower quality is Fiat trying to shadow its own brilliance. sort of pushing substandard products.
If providing quality costs Fiat, Fiat should pass it to the customer, and assure high QC (quality control), not negative QC (quality compromise).
undercutting quality does not mean value especially when competition has multiple aces. People appreciate a quality product, see Honda. Honda charges a premium and still has loyal followers. Even the hatchback market has expanded to offer products costing 7+ lacs.
Fiats hatchbacks if it gets little expensive (only justifiable increase) wont make any difference to the buyer, either ways it does not attract an economy buyer, Fiats at any price will always have its true fans because true fans value not the price but its core values and driving dynamics. It will not just retain but multiply its fan base.
Fiat has all solutions in its backyard, depends whether they want to market an excellent car  with all basics right (engine, chasis, interior design & quality, comfort, steering, handling) or compromised car. Providing fancy features does not increase value unless basics are right.
Fiat, I think its a will issue not a skill issue. I hope Fiat is listening and have answers ready.

I highly appreciate your thorough analysis of FIAT as a company and for their products. I second your thoughts after enjoying very good onwership experience of Palio for 7 years. However last 1.5 years was pathetic due to small issues with product and big issues with service. recently I have test driven both Linea and Punto. They are good cars, but still so many things are lacking, specially in Punto. Dark dash, inadequate space at rear, poor design of Dash & central console, engine noice creeping in to the cabin.. All these things are against the future of the company and hence they should think deep before launching products in India.

Sandeep

Well written piece. Hope FIAT changes its works.

Selva Kumar

Could be that to maintain a competetive price they are sourcing certain parts (especially plastic ones) from local suppliers in India - these might be good enough but not the best or world-class.

Fiat wants to capture 10 - 12 % market share in hatchback segment in India. More importantly it is not their products but lack of focus let them down in past. They had very good products but no policy . Without proper policy one can not be successful.

Linea is a success & Punto looks very promising . They want to sale 2000 - 2500 units of Punto / month. Initial response / sales figures are encouraging. Localisation is approximately around 45 % in Punto.

I personally likes blacks than browns !! . No car is  perfect so is Linea & Punto.

It is up to Fiat management how they handle Linea & Punto in India now . Hope they have learnt well from their mistakes .