FIAT makes a strategic move for the Indian market

Fiat Group Automobiles India Private Limited(FGAIPL), the fully owned subsidiary of Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A., Italy today announced the completion of the dissolution with Tata Motors for the distribution arrangement of FIAT vehicles in India. FGAIPL will now independently control all commercial activities which includes marketing, sales, distribution and after sales services of FIAT vehicles in India.

With the establishment of FGAIPL, the independent dealership network and state of the art workshops dedicated to serving FIAT vehicles in prime locations across major cities in India, FIAT’s wheels are in swift motion to capture significant market share in one of the fastest growing markets in the world.

Speaking on the development, Mr. Enrico Atanasio, Director - FGAIPL, said, “The objective behind establishing a National Sales Company (NSC) in FGAIPL is to consolidate our position as a key automobile player in the Indian car market. We have identified key personnel and roped them in for important leadership roles in order to accelerate our growth plans. Our long term product strategy is in place and which puts us in a strong position to capture market share in one of the most important automobile markets in the world. I am fairly confident that we can build on this early momentum and allign all our activities to achieve our short term and long term objectives.”

FGAIPL has also initiated their latest integrated marketing campaign, “Make the Move”, with the objective of engaging the consumers through multiple touch points. The brand will engage with the incumbent and prospective customers by communicating the journey of the FIAT brand in India.

FGAIPL has recently launched its new website (https://www.fiat-india.com/) a highly interactive and engaging site designed to further enhance FIAT’s digital footprint. The website is directly connected to the dealer management system to provide quick feedback to customer queries. It also incorporates an ownership section that provides maintenance tips, warranty information, latest offers on FIAT products, a servicing schedule and training information provided to technicians. The site presents the information in an easy-to-use format, including both text and images, for viewers to more easily access and understand.

In addition, FIAT cars will now carry a new warranty policy. The compehensive warranty for FIAT customers will comprise of a three year manufacturers’ warranty,
with an option for customers toextend it to five years. The additional two year warranty will be offered by FIAT dealers through the ‘Europe assistance’, a service provider. The new warranty policy package is introduced keeping the customer’s confidence in the quality of FIAT brand top of mind. Equipped with a 24/7 road side assistance (RSA) and soon to be launched mobile service vans, FIAT plans to serve customers better and faster in case of a major or minor breakdown by providing towing facility to the nearest FIAT exclusive dealership.

FGAIPL has also established an all new 24/7 call centre to connect with consumers and respond quickly to their queries. It will provide 24/7 on-call service with multiple language options for customers. The 30 member strong staff is fully trained in technical and soft skills in order to replicate FIAT Group’s global standards in customer service and prompt response.

Speaking about all of the initiatives , Mr. Nagesh Basavanhalli - President and Managing Director, FIAT Chrysler India Operations, said, “FIAT Group views India as a strategic market and we are confident of replicating the Groups’ global standards in the sales, marketing, distribution and after-sales departments here. We have undertaken a series of initiatives in order to provide a very high level of service to all of our business partners and to further engage with our customers. The current organisational structure provides us with a solid platform to elevate FGAIPL as one of the prominent players in the Indian automobile market.”

In order to replicate FIAT Group’s international standards in technical and soft skills training, U-NETVERSITY, FIAT Group’s global training school is already conducting and overseeing the entire training program that involves training about 50 personnel in a single day. The entire training program is designed to support the complete set of FIAT Group and Chrysler Group systems including the prominent ones such as LINK-e- Entry for warranty parts supply.

FGAIPL operates a fully equipped warehouse that is capable of stocking up to 6000 different parts at any given point in time. The warehouse is equipped with the latest IT systems that tracks and updates dealer’ spare parts requirements on a real-time basis. It therefore enables FGAIPL to deliver the necessary spare parts to metro customers within 24 hours and non metro customers within 72 hours.

Aligning with FIAT Group’s global operational standards, Mercurio Pallia, FIAT India’s logistics partner constructed a 12 acre stockyard which has the capacity to store 2000 vehicles. It is located  in close proximity to FIAT’s Ranjangaon manufacturing plant to ensure that FIAT vehicles are stored and transported in impeccable condition. It will enable FIAT to provide a high level of service to their dealers and customers.