With five new launches scheduled this year, Fiat is going to significantly increase its presence on Indian roads. At the Auto Expo '08, Fiat India CEO Rajeev Kapoor speaks to Sourya Biswas about his company's future plans and how the Tata Motors tie up has helped. (View exclusive domain-b video interview with Rajeev Kapoor)

How has been the response to the Fiat Palio and the Fiat Palio Stile, which has been publicized as the fastest hatchback in India?
Response has been very encouraging…the numbers on Palio Stile Sport, which is 1.6L, have been increasing in the recent past. We see it as a very perky, very torque-y vehicle, but of course, as you know, we would now launch another version in diesel, which we feel is going to add more numbers to our sales.

You are bringing in the Cinquecento and the Bravo as fully imported units. How many units does Fiat expect to sell of these expensive cars and at what price-points?
Cinquecento actually is a style product…it's a brand statement and we want to keep it like this. It will be very exclusive in India. The base version is expected to cost around 12 lakh rupees because it will be a completely built unit (CBU) imported into India. Cinquecento actually is a car which the car has to build…. there are a whole lot of customizations available…and our effort would be to bring those customizations also for Indian customers. That would be additional cost on top. So every car actually is unique, and it would be sold to very select customers, and we are at the moment collecting expressions of interest from would-be customers here at the Auto Expo…and we will then follow them up personally, one by one, to select customers, and also design the cars for them.

You haven't decided on the prices yet?
As I said, the base price is 12 lakh-plus, and then there will be added cost of customization.

When are the Linea and the Grande Punto going to be launched in India? Can you provide some specifications of these cars?
Linea would be available to Indian customers in third quarter of this year, which is the festive season. It would be available in two engine versions – 1.3 L diesel, and 1.4 L petrol. And each will have several trim levels for choosing the style which one wants to maintain. The Grande Punto will come end of this year or early next year…December or January…and we have still not decided about the price…that we will indicate once we near the launch.

Fiat had a major problem with after-sales service in India. How has the situation improved after tying up with Tata Motors?
You see, one of the reasons both the partners have come together…and we have decided to sale and distribute…and after-sales support from Tata Motors…actually that is their strength in this area. At the moment we have 65 co-branded dealers all across India which are servicing Fiat cars. This number is going to go up to about a 100 by the year-end. These dealers and their mechanics have been fully trained in Fiat facilities at Ranjengaon to handle our cars. Supporting them is a very strong spare parts network, which Fiat has now established with Tata and the spare parts availability is becoming excellent now, and we hope to strengthen this area further.

Any plans of collaborating on future models with Tata Motors?
Tata-Fiat joint venture is a joint venture where both the facilities are available to both the partners, for developing anything in future. As you would have seen, the Indica has a diesel engine made by Fiat, which Tata has unveiled recently…and in future, if there are opportunities, of course, we will develop for our joint venture.

Does Fiat have any plans for the fast-growing SUV segment in India?
No, we are not actually looking at SUVs, because we feel that our hatchbacks do a crossover up to the SUV segment. And we would be offering Grande Punto, which is going to be the biggest hatchback in the segment…and of course, the Bravo also will be available as a CBU in the second half of this year…so they are crossovers…so I don't think there is need for a SUV once you have those cars.

You have so many hatchbacks but only one sedan. Is that an intentional strategy?
No, it is not an intentional strategy per se, but Fiat actually has found that sedan has a particular market, but some of the cars that we have designed actually meet what we call the ''weekday and weekend'' requirements of all the customers. So there is no specific need for a sedan. But we have Linea now, which is a style statement.

What are Fiat's views on its strategic partner Tata's one-lakh ace?
It's a beautiful car, and as far as strategy as concerned, that only Tata Motors can tell you. But we feel very proud that our joint-venture partner has brought something which is actually going to be changing the paradigm of this industry.