Fiat India opens 3 new dealerships in Mumbai, expands network to 90 across India

Mumbai, November 18, 2013: Fiat Group Automobiles India inaugurated three new independent and exclusive dealerships in Mumbai today, growing the number of such units to four. The first Fiat exclusive showroom had opened in Thane earlier this year. While the newly opened Torrid Motors showroom is located at Times Square, Western Express Highway, Andheri East, Esskay Motors is at Prabhadevi and Balaji Cars at Navi Mumbai.

The 3,000 square foot Torrid Motors showroom facility can display 4 cars and also has a state-of- the-art workshop spread across 15,000 square feet. The Esskay Motors facility comprises of an 8,500 square feet showroom and 18,000 square feet of workshop area, while Balaji Cars has a 3,500 square feet showroom and 20,000 square feet of workshop area.

In 2014, Mumbai, which currently has a Fiat car parc of 9,000 vehicles, will have a total of eight dealerships. The Western region currently contributes 28 percent of overall sales for the company. With the new dealerships, Fiat India now has a total of 90 such showrooms across the country and aims to close this year with 100 of them. The current network comprises 42 dealers in the top 10 cities, 32 in the next 20 cities, and the rest in other parts of India. Region-wise, these comprise 7 dealerships in the East, 22 in the West, 37 in the North and 24 in the South. Fiat India says it has got another 18 letters of intent for setting up new dealerships and by the end of 2013, the carmaker plans to 10 more exclusive dealerships with separate service centres.

Inaugurating the Torrid Motors’ dealership Nagesh Basavanhalli, president and managing director, Fiat Chrysler India Operations, said:

“Fiat India views Mumbai as a very strategic market and the inauguration of two exclusive dealerships in Mumbai and one in Navi Mumbai are in accordance with our strategy to capitalise on this potential.”

The Italian carmaker is aggressively going about increasing its footprint in India and this launch. In a bid to develop a strong consumer connect, Fiat India has started actively engaging with both existing and potential customers and also highlighting new developments like the fast- expanding independent dealership network, 24x7 roadside assistance, a new service warranty package and the newly launched models of Linea and Punto.

With close to 10 years of experience in automobile trade, Torrid Motors was a natural choice, said Basavanhalli. The dealership exclusively caters to Fiat India and will retail its two existent models – Linea and Punto – and new ones to come. The new Linea is expected to be launched at the Auto Expo in February 2014 and the Jeep brand is also expected to debut at the same event.

SUMANTRA BAROOAH