Fiat Palio CNG in a month’s time

Fiat enthusiasts in India will get to drive a CNG version of its much-loved but slow-selling Palio model. The CNG variant of Palio is expected to be rolled out in a month’s time.

Currently available in both petrol and diesel variants, the CNG Palio models will join a line up of new models that are being planned by Fiat India for year 2009. The car maker is expected to roll out its much hyped Fiat Linea model by September 2009. The premium hatchback Grande Punto will follow the Linea.

Significantly, the CNG plans from Fiat comes at a time when automotive industry in India is seriously looking at shifting to environment-friendly fuels that would cut costs as well as CO2 emissions. The CNG version of Palio will jointhe likes of Tata Indica, Hyundai Santro, Maruti Wagon R, Ford Ikon and the Marina, which are  models that now run on CNG and LPG.

The Fiat Palio was launched in India a decade back, but never picked up due to problems in sales and service in India. While the car was much-loved, and the 1.6 liter version was a favourite of enthusiasts, it was believed that fuel efficiency was below par. Later, Fiat tried introducing a diesel version, but by then already the market had moved along. Last year, a Fiat-Tata alliance and the launch of the Fiat Palio Stile saw slightly better consumer confidence – but still sales were nowhere near satisfactory.

Even the latest launch, the Fiat Palio CNG, is a bit too late, we feel. We would never understand why Fiat waits till everyone else is in the game, and then follows. The pricing was always a bit more than buyers were willing to pay, and a CNG car would have been brilliant if Fiat were the first ones to launch it. Too late now? We shall see.

The car maker is supposedly lining up the Grande Punto in a  price differential slot compared to the existing models and has said that the differential would be due to the size of the car. The Grande Punto will be bigger in size compared to the competitors in its segment. Though, the company has not yet decided on the onroad price of the vehicle, it is expected to be similar to thouse of compatriots such as Maruti’s Swift, Hyundai Getz and Chevrolet’s U-VA. Fiat is said t be weighing options on producing CNG engines which requires slight alteration in their petrol engine.

As if the line up is too short, the car maker has also announced plans to import its Fiat 500 all the way form home nation Italy. While Fiat 500 will travel all the way to India from the overseas location, the Linea and Grande Punto are to be rolled out of its facility in Maharashtra.