BS6 Effect: Fiat Punto Range And Linea Discontinued

The brand will continue to operate in the country as part of the FCA Group

• Fiat has officially discontinued its range of cars in India.

• Most of its engines were not updated to meet BS6 emission norms.

• The Punto and Linea were offered with a 1.3-litre diesel engine.

• Fiat Punto Evo also got the option of a 1.2-litre petrol engine.

• Punto Abarth, Urban Cross, Avventura and Linea were powered by a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine.

• Fiat Linea was powered by a 1.4-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine too.

• Fiat brand may be revived in India later on.

The Fiat brand of cars has been somewhat absent for almost a couple of years now. Now, with the BS6 emission norms in effect, Fiat has officially discontinued the Punto range of hatchbacks and the Linea sedan as well.

Most of the engines offered in the Fiat models have not been updated to meet the new BS6 norms. The Fiat-made 1.3-litre diesel engine that was found in Maruti Suzuki’s range also powered all the Fiat cars mentioned here, albeit with more performance on tap - 93PS and 209Nm. It was only offered with a 5-speed manual transmission. The last unit of the 1.3-litre MultiJet diesel unit was manufactured in January 2020.

The Punto EVO’s petrol option was a 1.2-litre engine mated to a 5-speed manual shifter, making 68PS and 96Nm. It was priced from Rs 6.31 lakh to Rs 7.48 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The Punto was a rival to the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Hyundai Elite i20, Honda Jazz and Volkswagen Polo. It was also offered in a hot hatch Abarth variant powered by a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine with a 5-speed manual gearbox making 142PS and 210Nm. The Punto Abarth was priced at Rs 9.67 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

Fiat offered the Punto in other body types as well - the Urban Cross and the Avventura. The Urban Cross and Avventura were the crossover equivalents like the Hyundai i20 Active and Toyota Etios Cross and the Honda WR-V. Out of these, only the WR-V is on sale currently while both the i20 Active and Etios Cross have been discontinued. The petrol engine option of the Urban Cross and Avventura was the Punto Abarth’s 1.4-litre turbocharged unit. Fiat had priced the Urban Cross from Rs 6.78 lakh to 9.78 lakh while the Avventura cost between Rs 7.12 lakh and 9.89 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

The Fiat Linea was a rival to the likes of the Hyundai Verna, Honda City, Volkswagen Vento, Skoda Rapid and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz. Its petrol engine options included a 1.4-litre unit making 90PS and 115Nm while mated to a 5-speed manual. The other choice was the 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine tuned to produce 125PS of power and 208Nm, also mated to a 5-speed manual. The Linea was priced between Rs 7.16 lakh and Rs 9.98 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

According to SIAM’s monthly numbers, Fiat hasn’t shipped a single unit of the Linea since September 2019 while no Punto model has left the factory since May 2019. However, the discontinuation of these models does not mean that the Fiat brand is leaving the country. Its parent conglomerate still has the Jeep brand alive and well. The 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine mentioned earlier is offered in BS6 form with the Jeep Compass. Jeep has several new products in the pipeline for India like a sub-4m SUV and a 7-seater SUV as well. So, expect Fiat to be revived under more favourable market conditions.