Reference Auto

The government’s move to hike petrol prices by Rs 7.50 per litre will surely deter buyers from acquiring such cars, and so, could it serve as an advantage to Fiat, which has rolled out the Punto Sport diesel for Rs 7.36 lakh?

Fiat’s presence in India is far from substantial, and after severing ties with Tata Motors, the Italian auto major is left to fend for itself in a market inundated with strong brands like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Honda, Chevrolet, Ford and Tata Motors, among others.

One way Fiat could have made inroads into the Indian market is by pricing its cars lower than competitors in the highly price-sensitive Indian market.

Unfortunately, it has been rigid in its pricing. So, it found few takers, first for its Palio and Siena, and later for its Punto.

But Fiat has the world’s best diesel engine and the company should drive home this point to the Indian customer to rev up sales.

Even the Fiat Punto Sport, a limited edition car, is steeply priced (at Rs 7.3 lakh). The Punto Sport diesel comes with a turbo-charged 1.3-litre multi-jet diesel engine that belts out 93 PS @ 4,000 rpm and 209 Nm torque @ 2,000 rpm.

Its turbocharger also paves the way for fuel efficiency of 20.5 km to a litre, which would make it ideal for Indian roads.

The exteriors and interiors come with a Midas touch, which is the work of Designer of the Century, Giorgetto Giugiaro.

On the safety side, the Fiat Punto Sport comes equipped with a unique fire prevention system, immobilizer along with rolling code, central door locking, door open indicator, automatic door lock, seat belts that can be adjustable in height and anti-lock braking system (ABS) with EBD.

It also has three-point ELR seat belts with pretensioners and load limiters, dual stage (front) airbags with early crash sensors along with passenger airbag deactivation. The limited edition also has rear and colour-coded door mirrors and special side decals.

Fiat has also taken the comfort factor into consideration. Fiat Punto Sport diesel offers power steering, tilt steering, clutch foot rest, power windows with delay and auto down function, outside rear view mirrors which are electronically adjustable, rear window (wiper and washer), and rear defogger that comes with timer.

The limited edition Punto Sport Grande will be available in three exquisite colours, namely, Bossa Nova White, Hip Hop Black and Exotica Red.

This car also scores on the entertainment front. The Punto Sport diesel has integrated CD/MP3 and FM player with four speakers, steering-mounted audio, Blue and Me TM controls and Blue and Me TM (with USB port).

So, for Fiat to use the advantage of a diesel vehicle to scale up sales of its cars may require the Italian major to seriously contemplate changing its pricing strategy as a low-cost car is the first step to wooing the Indian customer.