The Grande Punto forms the third plank in a new strategy of model roll outs by Fiat India since it was reborn as part of a 50-50 joint venture with domestic giant Tata Motors. Tata Motors' much vaunted Nano microcar will finally be in the dealerships from next month. Costing just Rs 115,000 this tiny 5-door car has a 623cc 2-cylinder SOHC petrol engine. A key part of the attraction of an alliance with Fiat for Chrysler was the opportunities it would bring to extend the ailing carmaker's shrunken footprint outside the U.S. and India is seen as being one of its key targets. In particular the Jeep brand is seen as an ideal fit.

During the Indian launch of the Grande Punto yesterday, Fiat India CEO Rajeev Kapoor raised the possibility that Fiat could build a 600cc micro-car as well as suggesting that Chrysler's brands could soon be launched in the country.

The Grande Punto forms the third plank in a new strategy of model roll outs by Fiat India since it was reborn as part of a 50-50 joint venture with domestic giant Tata Motors. Until that agreement was forged two years ago the Italian carmaker had failed to make any headway in the Indian market despite two car plants, with the newest of these, the state-of-the-art, 200,000-units-a-year factory at Ranjangaon in Maharashtra, having fallen idle. Relaunching with the Palio last year (in Palio Stile format), the Linea was added to the range in January and it instantly because a hit and won over the Indian media which has been sceptical of Fiat's products thus far. The Grande Punto this week arrives in the 100-strong dealer showrooms and jettisons Fiat into the premium hatchback segment with a product priced to take on the market's established rivals. Both the Grande Punto and Linea will be exported from India to South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka beginning as early as next month. "We will start exporting soon but our priority is the domestic market," Turin-based sales and marketing director Giorgio Gorelli noted. The two models are expected to be shipped to China shortly.

However while the Grande Punto was basking in the limelight yesterday, Fiat India CEO Rajeev Kapoor admitted to journalists that a Fiat-branded 600c microcar could be on the cards. Fiat has plans to make India the global hub of small car production. "The 600cc segment excites every car manufacturer. We have no plans for this segment now. But there could be something down the road," Kapoor told journalists. Fiat's joint venture partner Tata Motors' much vaunted Nano microcar will finally be in the dealerships from next month. Costing just Rs 115,000 this tiny 5-door car has a 623cc 2-cylinder SOHC petrol engine.

However Kapoor said that immediate attention was being focused in the 'Compact' B-segment to build on Fiat's current 10 percent market share. He also told reporters that he was interested in the premium end of this category which is dominated by Suzuki's Dzire, the rather ugly booted version of the Swift hatchback. "There’s nothing that stops us from entering this segment," he said on the sidelines of the launch. "We are waiting for the market to stabilise." This model position would be covered by an offspring from the 'low cost' car family that Fiat is now developing to replace the ageing Project 178 'World Car' family (Palio, Siena, Strada and Palio Weekend) and which has been dubbed in the media as the 'new Uno'. Kapoor also foresees Fiat entering the utility vehicle segment in the future although this will depend on the market conditions becoming right, and at the moment the company's focus is all about the Palio, Linea and Grande Punto. "Once growth sets in, the whole range of Fiat’s portfolio will be available," he said in reference to questions about a utility vehicle.

Kapoor said: "We want to be an important player in India and our small cars have met with good market response. The markets for bigger cars such as sedans are not growing and we have delayed the launch of Bravo, which was in the Rs 15-16 lakh price range." He said the economic climate doesn't help importing cars and rather the focus would be building products locally and introducing variants based on the current three-model range that will leverage market share.

Also referring to the new 'low cost' car, Fiat Group Automobiles International COO Silverio Bonfiglioli told Economic Times, "The demand for small cars has been rising exponentially and Fiat is looking at generating volumes by introducing more such cars. We will be launching a new global car designed for the needs of the Indian and other emerging markets." The market segment for small cars in India accounts for around 70 percent of all sales.

Kapoor wants to widen the range of passenger cars that Fiat India sells as far as possible "even if it means launching vehicles outside the current joint venture with Tata Motors." This could see Chrysler, which last week finally emerged from the Chapter 11 bankruptcy procedure to enter into an alliance with Fiat, being launched in the country, and Kapoor was upbeat on questions about that, "why not" he told reporters. A key part of the attraction of an alliance with Fiat for Chrysler was the opportunities it would bring to extend the ailing carmaker's shrunken footprint outside the U.S. and India is seen as being one of its key targets. In particular the Jeep brand is seen as an ideal fit with its comprehensive model range encompassing genuine off road capable workhorses rather than the fashionable SUVs pedalled by many other carmakers.