In 2007, Fiat India and Tata Motors agreed to set up a joint network of dealers and distributors apart from a back-end support system. They agreed to share the manufacturing facility of Tata Motors at Ranjangaon (Pune).
Rajeev Kapoor, President and CEO of Fiat India, speaking to reporters at the annual meet of the Automotive Manufacturers Association today said: “Fiat cars will now be sold separately and independently.”
According to Kapoor, the dealers appointed under the joint venture agreement between Fiat India and Tata Motors would now establish separate showrooms for the two companies.
Rajeev Kapoor further said that Fiat would open independent showrooms in 20 cities in the next 18 to 24 months. He has also announced that Fiat India is opening two Fiat ‘cafes’ – one each in Delhi and Pune – shortly to promote the brand and emphasise its Italian origins.
The 2007 joint-venture agreement between Fiat India and Tata Motors has apparently come under the scanner because the results have not been quite in keeping with the expectations. While as many as 16,829 cars from Tata have been sold in August 2011, a mere 1.069 Fit cars were sold in the same period. (We recall a similar situation that arose in the case of Titan and Timex watches; Timex had to opt out to establish its own market.)
While this effectively signifies the end of a part of the joint venture agreement between the two companies, it is not yet knownwhether the entire agreement is heading towards being scrapped or whether the part dealing with manufacturing activity will continue.
