For decades, the Premier Padmini made by Premier Automobiles in collaboration with Fiat SpA was a popular vehicle on the Indian roads. It continued to dominate the Indian consumer automobile segment till the advent of the diminutive Maruti 800.
Fiat Group is Italy’s largest automobile manufacturer and boasts of a range of small and medium-sized cars – from the Fiat to the Ferrrari. In 1997, Fiat India Automobiles Private Ltd (FIAPL) was set up as a joint-venture with Tata Motors. With a manufacturing unit in Pune district, Fiat is now manufacturing Palio Stile 1.1 and 1.6 models. On the anvil are the Grande Punto and Linea. The Fiat 500, considered the icon of Italian style was launched in 2008 in Mumbai. Powered with a 1.3 Ltr Multijet engine with 75 bhp of power output at 4000 rpm, the Fiat 500 boasts of fuel economy and environment friendliness.