Fiat India has announced its plans to further flex its muscles in the Indian car market with the launch of new generation model of Linea, which is scheduled for next year. The company aims to reposition the existing model of Linea, whereas the new updated version will co-exist along the current model. Fiat India revealed that the ongoing model will be known as Linea Classic, soon after the launch of new generation car. It must be noted that Ford India had earlier devised a similar strategy for its Fiesta sedan, which was renamed to Classic as soon as its newer version was rolled out in the Indian auto market.
As told by the company, the current model of Linea will be further categorised in C-segment paving way for the newer car that shall be slotted in the upper segment. It is expected that Linea Classic will retain the same old 1.4-litre petrol engine while the diesel variant will be seen powered by the same 1.3-litre Multijet diesel engine. It is said that after the launch of Linea's new model, company may resort to sell two models in C-segment, which will probably help it to pull volumes, owing to the revised pricing.
As per reports, Fiat India is also planning to introduce new variants of its hatchback named Grand Punto during the course of next year. It is said that the facelift version of Grand Punto will be launched alongside the Abarth Punto. As per information given by sources, Abarth Punto will be powered by a 1.9-litre diesel engine and will be available at an ex-showroom price of Rs. 11.5 lakh for the base variant.
However, there is no official announcements made by the company regarding the specifications of the engine and the above mentioned facts are only speculative. Apart from it, Fiat India will also introduce a compact Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) in India in the coming months. It is also reported that the Italian car maker is planning to introduce its Jeep brand, which manufactures world renowned SUVs. Reportedly, the vehicles of Jeep brand will hit the Indian car market through the Completely Built Unit (CBU) route. The cars are elated to debut in India during the early phase of 2015 and will be slotted in the B and C segments of the Indian auto market.
