Fiat India has struggled in India since
its inception. The Fiat Uno was one of
the first products to be introduced. The
Palio was later introduced and was initially
a big hit with its style and ride comfort
coupled with solid build but has slowly
lost its sheen due to low fuel efficiency.
Other models were introduced such as the
Palio Weekend and Siena. Fiat tried re-branding
of the Siena to Petra without much success.
It roped in Sachin Tendulkar as one of
its brand ambassadors. Even Michael Schumacher
appeared in an ad for the Palio. It has
entered now into an alliance with Tata
Motors to jointly manufacture cars at
its plant in Ranjangaon, near Pune. The
facility will enbale the two companies
to make about 2 lakh cars per annum, and
also house an engine manufacturing unit
with a capacity of 2.5 lakh units per
annum. The alliance will also see Tata
Motors use Fiat's diesel technology -
the 1.3 litre multijet diesel engine -
for its own vehicles. The two companies
also have a distribution and service partnership.