Fiat Slashes Prices of Linea and Punto EVO!

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles India, in a surprising move has announced a reduction in the prices of its Linea and Punto EVO cars. This comes at a time when other auto manufacturers have been increasing prices ( though the extent is not clear). Hence, the news of Fiat reducing prices of its cars comes as a respite for prospective car buyers, especially those considering buying from the Italian brand. The company has slashed the price of Linea, by up to 7.3 per cent while in Punto EVO's case, the prices have been reduced by up to 7 per cent.

Although, reducing prices of Linea puts the Italian sedan directly in the firing line of the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz which happens to be one of the best selling cars in the segment. Compared on a variant to variant bases, there are key differences between the two. The Linea for example doesn’t offer rear parking sensors or camera in any of its variants and neither is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto a part of its features. Both of which are available on the Ciaz top variants. The Linea does offer rain sensing wipers and cruise control, both features which are skipped on the Ciaz.

Even after the price cut, the Linea may not appear to be the better choice compared to its chief rival but it definitely offers significantly better value than before.

After Sales Service

Realising that after-sales services aspect of Fiat was not the company’s strongest suit, FCA conducted customer outreach camps in 500 locations across India in 2016 to instill better customer confidence in the brand. The company intends to continue this initiative in 2017. In addition to the outreach camps, the company will also conduct five mega service camps at its authorized dealerships throughout 2017.

Another part of enriching a customer's experience is through dealerships. To that end, Fiat has launched a new dealer showroom format called Destination Stores. These stores will display vehicles by the company’s Abarth and Jeep brands along with Fiat cars and will have individual stores for individual brands as well like for example, the Jeep destination store in Chennai.

Get latest updates on
the automobile community

Login Now

The decision to slash prices during a time when other manufacturers are headed the other way coupled with the after sales improvement drive could help Fiat gain some ground on its competition. But to instill customer confidence and more than anything, customer anticipation, Fiat certainly needs to expand and reinvent its mass market portfolio.