Fiat to launch Punto Abarth by June and Jeep range by October

Fiat India has announced that it will launch the Punto Abarth by June and the iconic Jeep SUV range by October. Fiat India’s MD, Enrico Atanasio, confirmed the information. He also said that the Punto Abarth would be assembled at their Ranjangaon plant while the Grand Cherokee and the Wrangler will be brought into the country via the CBU route.

We have spoken much about the Grand Cherokee and the Wrangler and they were recently spotted testing outside Pune. The models that we spotted were fully registered, an indication that the homologation process had been completed. 

The Grand Cherokee will be powered by a 3.0-litre turbo diesel V6 which produces 237bhp and 550Nm of torque. The Wrangler on the other hand will get a 2.8-litre diesel mill that produces 200bhp and 460Nm of torque.  Both models are also expected to be offered with a 3.6-litre V6 petrol also. Since the vehicles will be arriving as CBUs we can expect that most of the interiors and underpinnings will also be the same as the UK-spec model (for convenience of RHD).

The Punto Abarth on the other hand is likely to be powered by the 114bhp mill from the T-jet Linea. It will get all the usual Abarth niceties like the badges, stickers, alloy wheels, body kit, interior trim as well as modified suspension to cope with the extra load. The Indian market may also be the first to get a diesel and five-door Punto Abarth.

Fiat has also announced that it would be launching a B segment and C segment SUV somewhere in 2014-2015. It also said that through its expansion plans it hopes to increase its market share from the current 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent by the end of the year.      

Source: ET