AgTalk | Encouraging Innovations is at the heart of Fiat: Enrico Atanasio

Fiat India Automobiles recently kick started a new theme called “Italian Technological Marvels’ at its FIAT Caffe. Showcasing a host of Italian engineering marvels for the next two months, the theme aims to enlighten people of the Italian prowess in the field of automobile engineering. The campaign will also feature Fiat’s Inventions of the Common Rail Direct Injection technology & 1.3L Multijet SDE. The campaign has been conceptualized by Fiat’s creative agency Saints and Warriors.

 

Adgully caught up with Enrico Atanasio-Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations at Fiat India Automobiles Ltd as he shares interesting insights into Fiat’s journey so far.

 

Providing useful insights into ‘Italian Technological Marvels’  he said, “Italy has given a lot of good inventions to the world.  Over the past centuries, a lot of new ideas have been brought to the market and progressively have been developed.  The Italian marvel technology theme has been introduced in order to give the customers a more comfortable experience. It reinforces the association of Fiat with technology and with Italy and adds more value to the brand.”

 

Shedding light on some of the features that this technology brings to the fore, he said, “The essence of the technology is that most of the prevalent technologies that drive with diesel engines have been invented by Fiat.  Most importantly, technology which has a simple approach was invented some years ago by Fiat. Today, the majority if not the totality of the diesel engines in the world come from that technology. All the current aspects of the petrol and diesel engine have been in a way or the other coming from previous innovations of Fiat. Therefore, the focus essentially lies on diesel associated products. Diesel currently occupies an important percentage of the cars running in the Indian market.”

 

Speaking about the target audience that the technology seeks to address, he says, “We are targeting the audiences who are carefully looking at the technology aspect. Consumers that are car-competent and people who like cars that give them a feeling and not just use the car to commute.  People who not only use the car but also feel it.”

 

Enrico exclaimed, “One of the aspects of Fiat is that; it has a very high knowledge in the market. It is one of the best brands that has motorized India. For a while, there has been a lack of clarity, in terms of improving the positioning of the brand. So now, we are looking to improve the positioning of the brand. I expect a better understanding of the brand content and brand positioning.” He also believes that this is a moment of transition for Fiat as they move from an existing network which is shared with Tata Motors Limited to a new future network.

 

The media mix that will be employed for the promotion of the new campaign is television, internet, print and outdoor.  The digital medium will also be fully exploited. Specifically targeted at metros, the “Italian technological marvels” includes technologies that can be introduced anywhere. There are no limitations to its application.

 

Expressing his views on the future of the diesel engine technology in India and globally, Enrico said, “I believe that the technology will continue to prevail for some period. It will continue to occupy a significant portion of the market. The diesel technology definitely gives more performance. It is no longer the polluting bad smelling engine; it is clearly a much more evolved type of engine.”

 

Commenting on the increasing trend of luxury cars, he said, “This is a market that is growing more in terms of content and numbers. The consumers have become more mature and sophisticated. They require more content in the product. As new trends emerge, newer products will come. Due to increasing demand, the segment will continue to progress. There is obviously the cost barrier. The advantage that Fiat offers is that our products are quite economical.”

 

Elaborating on Fiat’s future innovations in terms of technology, he said, “We are massively investing in research and development and the creation of new potential.  We constantly encourage development of new ideas and new opportunities.”

 

He added, “India has the biggest engineering research centre in Chennai. A very huge number of engineers work there to develop cars, components, engines and design. They have a huge commitment and work dedicatedly on specific projects. Thus, it is a strategic centre for Fiat.”

 

On an end note, Enrico said, “Fiat is extremely well positioned in terms of technology and performance. We are open to exploring innovations. We are the lowest polluting brand and a brand with the lowest emission level in Indian products. The world is going towards respecting and protecting the planet. We are working on the same lines.”