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Fiat to export left-hand drive cars

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Swaraj Baggonkar Mumbai
Last Updated : Feb 05 2013 | 1:36 AM IST
Fiat India is planning to use its manufacturing plant in Ranjangaon, near Pune, to feed the markets in other countries.
 
It is in fact going to make left-hand drive cars in India, even though they cannot be sold in the country because of the traffic rules, for export.
 
"We have the option of producing left-hand drive cars for markets like Latin America, Africa, South East Asia and some of the European countries from our facility in Ranjangaon," said De Filippis Giovanni, the managing director of Fiat India.
 
It is mainly the former colonies of England that follow traffic rules requiring right-hand drive cars.
 
The company is witnessing some sort of a revival in the country after having tied up with Tata Motors for collaborating in production and marketing, though the sales figures remain not too big.
 
The Ranjangaon plant, developed jointly with Tata Motors at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore, can produce 100,000 cars a year to begin with. Alongside, it can manufacture 200,000 sets of engine units. The capacity, said Giovani, can be hiked further.
 
Giovanni refused to reveal the export target. However, he said the company would have four models by the middle of 2008, by which time Grande Punto and Linea would have joined Palio Stile and Adventure, which are already in the market.
 
The plant will also produce 1.4 litre and 1.2 litre petrol-fired engines and the new cars from the beginning of 2008.
 
The vehicles of Fiat and Tata Motors will share engines as part of the agreement of last December. The 1.3 litre multi-jet diesel engine, which now drives Maruti Udyog's Swift, will also power Tata and Fiat cars.
 
The common engine will make it possible for Tata and Fiat to have a common after-sales support.

 
 

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First Published: Jul 15 2007 | 12:00 AM IST

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