Fiat 500 couldn't appeal Indians

Fiat 500, also popular as Baby Fiat has been competing against Volkswagen Beetle and BMW Mini in the international markets, but was unable to catch the fancies of Indian car enthusiasts. Recently there were reports that Volkswagen Beetle has been accepted really well by Indians and good sales volume showed that Indians are ready to pay a whopping amount of Rs. 20 Lacs even for a small car. The conception however did not work for Fiat 500.

Baby Fiat is placed at Rs. 5 Lacs cheaper than Beetle and has managed to attract only 68 customers since its launch in 2008. Beetle on the other hand has sold over 284 units that too in a short period of just 5 months.

One of the company executive, expressed the dismal state of the company that had expected at least a few hundreds to sell to far. Fiat 500 is imported from Turin as a completely built in unit(CBU). The expenses of car is largely due to 100% excise duty.

Rakesh Batra, national leader (automotive practice), Ernst & Young comprehended the situation as the cost-effective temperament of the Indian customers. He said that India is a largely cost-conscious market and offers very little scope for high-priced cars.

Fiat 500 has been readily accepted across the world with some great responses in certain countries. The flat results are mainly from India. Baby Fiat competes with Grande Punto and also sports the same engine which makes it pretty evident that customers would opt for Grande Punto, that costs at least Rs. 10 Lacs less. Also, Linea the only sedan by the company comes in Rs 7.27 lakh which makes the interpretation of dropping sales very evident.

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