Fiat takes Make in India plan seriously and brings Chrysler along with them to make their luxury SUV in India.
The Make in India campaign that was started by our Prime Minster is seriously being considered all around the nation and globally as well. Something which is making manufacturers stand up and take notice. Honda Two-Wheelers recently said they will make CBF650 in India to support the idea of Mr. Modi and now Fiat plans to do the same thing with Jeep. A product that was supposed to be launched in India via the CKD/CBU route has suddenly been decided by Fiat to make these machines in India. It is good for car enthusiasts throughout the nation as prices will be competitive and finally we can have affordable luxury cars here in India like the rest of the world.
The development of this platform has already begun in India and is codenamed M6 or 556. The product is mostly a Jeep SUV that will compete in the C-segment space with a price range of around Rs. 20-25 lakhs, which means Toyota Fortuner, Hyundai Santa Fe, Ford Endeavour territory. The SUV will be made in hoards as the company claims they will make “tens of thousands” of it. The work will be commenced in their Ranjangoan factory and capacity increase will be needed as exports to global key markets like UK, Australia and South Africa will also be done from here.
A modular platform is also being created codenamed 326 which will help Fiat replace the ageing Punto and Linea and will continue to come under the Fiat brand. Fiat has finally got aggressive, if the product is right in every aspect and if pricing is on the better side, it will surely change the fortunes of Fiat-Chrysler in India as they already predict if they start making in India, their image will be a good one in the eyes of customers which are the most demanding customers in the world.
Source – Economic Times
