Fiat to beat Tata’s Nano

Italian car manufacturer Fiat on Thursday announced it would roll out the “world’s cheapest car” in India by 2010.  The launch would take place globally, Fiat’s CEO, Mr Sergia Marchionne told reporters on the sidelines of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers conclave here. The CEO did not disclose the price of the proposed “cheapest” car. The Tata group, India’s major car makers, is slated to market its cheapest car, Nano, in October this year. Meanwhile, Maruti Suzuki India said it has no plans to cut the price of Maruti 800 to compete with Tata Motors’ Nano.Maruti Suzuki India’s managing director, Mr Shinzo Nakanishi, told reporters on the sidelines of the SIAM Conclave here, “We are not in a position to get into that segment (Nano)… and we have no plans to cut the price of Maruti 800 to compete with Nano.” He further said the company is hopeful of good sales during the festive season, but added that margins are under pressure due to rising input costs.
He also said that the rising input prices is a challenge. But he expressed confidence that the company will be able to overcome this difficult situation.

Tata Motors’ managing director and SIAM president, Mr Ravi Kant, said, “Today the Indian automotive industry is facing unprecedented challenges. On one hand, demand is shrinking because of lack of availability of consumer finance, high interest rates and the high cost of fuel and on the other, cost of input materials has witnessed massive increases.”

He said that in the last two years steel prices had increased by almost 40 per cent, copper prices are up by 45 per cent and natural rubber prices have risen by 40 per cent. The impact of increase in steel prices alone on various segments of the automobile is quite significant.  “These factors are having a catastrophic impact on the bottom line of the Indian automotive industry and have resulted in withdrawal, scaling down or deferment of capital investment which would hurt the objectives of the Automotive Mission Plan in the long run,” said Mr Kant. The Union commerce minister, Mr Kamal Nath, said the auto exports from India should reach $ 25 billion in the next decade. The sentiment at the Siam Conclave was upbeat because of the  rising raw material prices.

Tags: cheapest car, Fiat, Italian car, Maruti Suzuki, Nano, TATA