Fiat to launch facelifted Punto by December

Fiat India has said that it will launch the facelifted Punto hatchback for the Indian market by December of this year. This was confirmed by Nagesh Basavanhalli, President and MD of Fiat India during the opening of their new showroom at Prabhadevi, in South Mumbai, yesterday.

 Camouflaged versions of the car have already been spotted testing in and around Pune. It is expected to get an evolutionary design and a feature list similar to that of the recently launched Linea sedan. Commenting on the car, he said that it was being developed by teams based out of Turin as well as Chennai and Pune where the Italian automaker has research centres. We already know that the car will be offered with both petrol and diesel engines and maybe an AT as that seems to be a trend that many manufacturers are slowly shifting to these days. 

The opening of the showroom also saw the Italian automaker displaying the Abarth 500 and the Avventura crossover concept which it is expected to be launched later this year. It had unveiled the cars for the Indian market at the Auto Expo and is currently on a multi-city tour to display the cars at various showrooms. 

The Avventura is a sub four-metre crossover based on the same platform as the Punto hatchback and gets its beef in the form of body cladding, taller wheels, modified fascia and tougher but more premium interiors.

It is expected to be offered with both petrol and diesel engines and power going to the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. 

The Abarth 500 on the other hand will be brought to the Indian market via the CBU route and is one of the four launches that the Pune-based automaker has scheduled for 2014.

The India spec car will be powered by the turbocharged 1.4-litre MultiAir unit that produces 160bhp and 230Nm of torque. Power is transmitted to the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox.

Fiat has said that it has plans to locally assemble an Abarth model at its Pune plant form 2015 but has not specified which one this will be. We expect that it will be the Abarth Punto which is likely to be adjusted for the Indian market and road conditions. 

On quizzing him on Fiat’s performance since it began solo operations in April last year, Nagesh said that they had shown a growth of 43 per cent in the period April-December 2013 as compared to the same period in 2012. 

He said that their plan to expand operations across the country was working well and going as per their expectations. The 2014 Auto Expo too had been a great contributor to this effort as it has given them a chance to showcase their products on an international scale and as re-introduce the brand in a big way. 

Fiat is currently setting up showrooms across the country in Tier-1 cities and has said that as a part of its product plan, it will also venture into Tier-2 cities and set up full-fledged showrooms as there is big potential in these places too. Setting up operations in smaller cities is now a growing trend among all manufacturers due to wide spread of purchasing power among consumers.

Finally, commenting on the reclusive Jeep duo (Wrangler and Cherokee), he said that the market conditions for both the vehicles are currently not favourable. They have decided to defer the launch (but not abandon it) and will introduce the cars once they feel that the market is ready for such vehicles.