Fiat, Tata look to bring Ferrari, Maserati here

Fiat, Tata look to bring Ferrari, Maserati here

MILAN: Italian auto giant Fiat and Tata Motors are in talks for a joint marketing project to sell Ferraris and Maseratis in India, news reports said on Thursday.

Mr Tata, who is also a Fiat director, told Italian daily La Stampa the two were studying further cooperation to add to existing projects such as a partnership to produce engines in India. “We have various projects, to take the Nano to Latin America together, to share platforms for new cars, we have projects for (Fiat lorry unit) Iveco and marketing Ferraris and Maseratis,” in India Mr Tata said. “We are talking about a lot of things.”

Both Ferrari and Maserati brands are under Fiat’s control. Tata Motors is also present in the luxury car business, having acquired the British brands Jaguar and Land Rover for $2.3 billion from the US automaker Ford last year.

At the other end of the scale, Fiat and Tata are considering marketing the Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car, in Latin America, where Fiat has a strong presence. Brazil is Fiat’s second-biggest market after Italy.

The Nano, the Rs 1-lakh car, hit the streets this month in India, and Tata has plans to export it to Europe, South America and Southeast Asia. The Nano passed the European “crash test” safety standard on Friday, allowing it to be sold in the Europe market and a launch is foreseen at the end of 2011, Mr Tata said. Fiat and Tata build cars, engines and gearboxes together in India, and Tata Motors is Fiat’s distributor in India.

ET

Fiat, Tata to sell Nano in Latin America: Tata

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MILAN: Italian carmaker Fiat SpA and Tata Motors Ltd intend to sell Tata's ultra-low-cost Nano model jointly in Latin America, Ratan Tata said in
an interview to a newspaper on Thursday.

Tata, who is also a Fiat director, told the newspaper the two were studying further cooperation to add to existing projects such as a partnership to produce engines in India.

"We have various projects, to take the Nano to Latin America together, to share platforms for new cars, we have projects for (Fiat lorry unit) Iveco and also for us to sell Ferrari and Maserati," Tata said.

"We are talking about a lot of things." The first Nano, the world's cheapest car, was delivered this month. Tata said the car's production run for the next two years is already sold.

The Nano is being sold in India for 100,000 rupees ($2,053) excluding taxes.

The Nano passed the European "crash test" safety standard on Friday, allowing it to be sold in the Europe market and a launch is foreseen at the end of 2011, Tata said.

Brazil is Fiat's second-biggest market after Italy.

Soruce:ET

Porsche Panamera may hit Indian roads by Sep 2009

Panamera, the new car from Porsche is likely to roll out in India by Sep 2009, after making its European debut in late summer 2009. Sources say that that Precision Car India (its sole importer in the country) has already ordered 50 units of Panamera.

The new Porsche Panamera comes with a wide range of features quite unparalleled in the premium segment. Among all the characteristics typical of a genuine Porsche the extra-low and sleek coupe silhouette, that offers ample space inside for four passengers and variable loading space for luggage.

The Panamera also proudly boasts of power units offering a high standard of fuel efficiency and low exhaust emission without compromising on performance. All power units featured in the Panamera are modern V-engines with either six or eight cylinders covering a power range from 300 - 500 bhp and featuring Direct Fuel Injection. The new car will be priced above. Rs. 86 lakh for the Indian market.

Porsche India, which sold 168 units last year, has set a target of 250 units in the current year.

Source: http://news.infibeam.com/blog/news/2009/02/07/porsche_panamera_may_hit_indian_roads_by_sep_2009.html

Fiat and Chrysler in partnership talks

Turin: Fiat SpA is in talks with Chrysler LLC over a possible stake in the struggling US automaker, a source close to the Italian group said on Monday.

"Between the two groups, there is talk about Chrysler possibly using Fiat technology in exchange for a stake," a source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The source said a deal with Fiat would help Chrysler make vehicles that produce fewer harmful emissions.

"To get financing, US (car makers) have to show that they are really committed to developing over the short term a new family of vehicles that pollute less," the source said. "By itself, Chrysler would not be able to meet this condition."

The talks between Fiat and Chrysler were reported by auto industry publication Automotive News Europe earlier in the day on its website (http://www.autonews.com).

The publication cited unnamed sources as saying Fiat could take a stake of up to 35 per cent in Chrysler and give the US automaker access to platforms, engines and transmissions.

Chrysler, the No 3 US-based automaker behind General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co received $4 billion of US government loans to avert collapse and Chief Executive Bob Nardelli said last week it was counting on $3 billion more.

It had requested $7 billion of US government aid.

GM, which also received government money, and Chrysler are required to meet cost-cutting targets as a condition of the aid, including reducing labor costs and restructuring debt as well as demonstrating that they have plans to be viable.

Soruce: www.mid-day.com