Fiat’s journey in India dates back to the early 1960s when Premier Automobiles Limited was manufacturing and selling the Fiat 1100D under license from Fiat. After its debut in 1964, the car was later renamed to Premier Padmini in 1970.
Later during the Padmini’s lifespan it even went on to offer air-conditioning and leather seats, which were considered to be luxury features at that time. The car was hugely popular with renowned Indian personalities who recall fond memories with the car to this day. Premier manufactured the Padmini at their Kurla plant in Mumbai until they sold a majority stake to Fiat S.p.A. in September 1997.
Fiat India Automobiles Pvt Ltd (FIAPL), later renamed as Fiat India Automobiles Ltd. (FIAL), was a joint venture between Fiat S.p.A and Tata Motors established in 1997. Key highlights from this JV include the launch of the Fiat Palio in 2001, the first ever Fiat car in India (sold by Fiat independently) and the development of the 1.3 Multijet engine. In 2008, in a bid to expand to its product portfolio in the country, new Fiat cars were launched, the iconic 500 (via the CBU route), followed by the Punto and Linea in 2009.
The range of all Fiat cars in India consists of the Linea, Punto Evo, Abarth Punto, Avventura and the Urban Cross forming the company’s 2018 product portfolio, with the Linea (in its top-spec) being the most pricey. Fiat cars’ manufacturing facility is set up in Ranjangaon and the company is headquartered in Pune. As of 2018, Fiat had set up more than 177 dealerships across the country.
Fiat car prices start from around 4.8 lakh rupees for the 2018 Punto Evo and go up to double-digit figures for rest of the line-up. Fiat car price listings can be found on the website of autoX.
