Fiat and Tata have announced that a newly formed Fiat Group-owned company will manage its commercial and distribution activities in India. So far, Tata Motors had been managing the distribution responsibility of Fiat cars in India through joint Tata-Fiat dealerships.
Fiat will now establish a new, separate company which will assume responsibility for all commercial and service-related activities from the current Tata-dedicated team assigned to manage the Fiat brand. Development of the new Fiat dealer network for India will start progressively and the 178 existing Fiat-franchised Tata dealers in 129 cities will be encouraged to form the foundation of the future network.
The new arrangement is a part of the company’s India growth plans and it is slated to provide greater focus on the Fiat brand in India. Announced in 2006, the Fiat-Tata joint venture also included the manufacturing activities at its Ranjangoan plant in Maharashtra. However, this will not affect the current activities at the plant and it will continue to supply cars and powertrains to Fiat and Tata.
An official statement released by the company states that both Fiat and Tata will endeavour to ensure a smooth transition of sales and service support to customers and the dealer network.