Fiat - Tata first cars to hit roads next year

Fiat and Tata announce joint venture to make cars for India.

BY OUR AUTO CORRESPONDENT
December 15, 2006

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Come 2007, and the Indian roads will see a revolution on wheels. With Italian carmaker Fiat and India’s own trusted automobile manufacturer Tata Motors announcing a joint venture to make passenger vehicles, engines and transmissions for Indian and overseas markets, the roads can look forward to something new.

The first cars produced under Fiat’s joint venture with Tata Motors will roll out in early 2007. The total investment in the deal may exceed $877 million. With the start of this project, Fiat will give a critical boost to its competitive presence in India and the surrounding area. The companies will manufacture cars at Fiat's Ranjangaon plant, in Maharashtra. The plant has a capacity to produce more than 100,000 cars and 200,000 engines and transmissions a year.

According to industry reports, trial runs have already started on the Palio and Adventure models and Fiat also will introduce the Grande Punto in the compact B range and the Linea for the mid-size C range. Meanwhile, Tata will manufacture cars to supplement its production at its plant in Pune.

The joint venture deal may also expand to the production of trucks as well, said reports. Following the deal, Tata Motors would also increase the Tata-Fiat dealer network to 100 outlets from 42 currently to cover more towns and cities in India, and also said it was continuing discussions with Fiat for industrial and commercial cooperations in Latin America. It has also been reported that Fiat would make Tata Motors' new one-tonne pick-up truck at its plant in Argentina for Latin American and overseas markets from the second half of the 2008 fiscal.