Fiat India Automobiles Limited (FIAL) launched the station wagon version of its mid-sized car ‘Siena
weekend', priced at Rs 7.27 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), Rs 90,000 cheaper than competitor Maruti Baleno Altura, and announced that small car Uno will not be discontinued despite a major erosion in sales.
The Siena weekend has been introduced in both petrol and diesel driven versions. The petrol weekend sports a price tag of Rs 7.27 lakh while the diesel model has been priced at Rs 7.87 lakh, FIAL Director (sales and marketing) Enrico Ferrero told newspersons New Delhi.
A safety packaged version of the car will be also be Rs 60,000 dearer. The car will have safety features as anti-lock braking system and airbags.
‘Siena weekend’ is part of the Project 178 (World Car Project) under which Fiat is producing five vehicles on a common platform. These include Siena, Siena weekend, Palio, a van and pick-up.
FIAL Managing Director Giovanni Ravina said that the company will be introducing its next small car ‘Palio’ in India in the first half of the 2001 calendar year. The car will be rolled out with over 80 per cent local content level.
''We are currently working on hiking the localisation level of the car to bring down costs and price the car competitively. We expect Palio to bring us volumes and drive us to profit,'' Aravina added. The company, he said, is looking at a breakeven period of three years.
Bureau Report
