Fiat India commenced production of its mid-sized sedan Linea on Friday, November 21, at its Ranjangaon production facility. It plans to launch the model in December this year. The Pune plant of Fiat India has a manufacturing capacity of 200,000 cars. After launching Linea in India, the company plans to launch its hatchback model, Fiat Grand Punto.
Grand Punto is one of the most popular cars in Europe with annual sales of 350,000 units. “The start of production of Linea is an important milestone for us and is a significant step in fulfilling the promise we had made at the Auto Expo in New Delhi earlier this year," Fiat India Automobiles Ltd's CEO, Rajeev Kapoor, told reporters in Pune. He also added that the plant has made progress and has started exports activity as well. The plant is fully capable of moving in top gear from now on. Kapoor also said that he expects a slow down in the demand but the consumers have become selective which makes the company foresee an opportunity to make considerable sales in the Indian market.
Linea is a C-plus segment car that was launched in Istanbul in May 2007. It bears a strong Italian imprint and is equipped with features found in higher segment cars.
