Is it time for FIAT?

There are mixed news about Fiat India, ripping Palio. Though Palio sells a meagre 50 units every month in the 2000 units that Fiat sells via its Tata-Fiat dealerships, its the entry level hatchback that the company offers against the Indica and Swift. Logically, its been some time that the model is around and it needs a major upgrade. Fiat, as of now have not mentioned anything about Palio meeting the BS IV norms which means the model may be discontinued.

Now, this can be good from profitability point of view. But a company which has Ferrari and Mesarati in its portfolio is not ready to play a solo innings. Punto cannot survive against Indica Vista and Linea cannot fight Indigo Manza when presented to a typical customer. The Tatas are strong in their utility ratio. Though its the same engine in all these cars, Tatas score on the value for money column. So presenting them next to each other is not a good idea. Now that the Punto and Linea have gained a market for themselves to sustain, its time for Fiat to move on.

Fiat on the other side have released pictures of an all new Palio. As I've mentioned in my earlier post, though its not very clear on the next move with Palio, for the company to taste its share of the small car boom in India, its time to go alone.