For four decades, Fiat was the only well-known car brand in India other than Ambassador. What's more, while Ambassador was for the officialdom and families, Fiat was the car of the yuppie, forward-looking folks. So strong was the brand name that it did not get diluted even though the badge 
changed to Premier as far back as 1973. However, what time could not do, competition did. The advent of Maruti [ Get Quote ] in the early 1980s, which quickly captured 80 per cent of the market (it also had 80 per cent of the industry capacity) left Fiat and Ambassador gasping in its wake. And the unbridled entry of foreign multinationals in the second half of the 1990s dramatically altered the look of India's roads. So much so that Fiat had to turn to a brand ambassador, Sachin Tendulkar [ Images ], in 19XX to re-establish itself when it sought to regain lost glory with Sienna, Uno, Palio and Adventure. (Maruti, well-entrenched as Fiat once was, has largely shunned brand ambassadors except for brief flirtations with Amitabh [ Images ] and Abhishek Bachchan [ Images ] for Versa [ Images ] and Farhan Akhtar [ Images ] for A-Star [ Images ].) Fiat entered into a technical tie-up with Mumbai [ Images ]-based, Doshi family-owned Premier Automobiles to produce the Uno in 1995 though their association was formed way back in the 1950's. It took control of the Kurla (suburb of Mumbai) operations three years later when Fiat India's automotive division was spun off as a seperate unit. Fiat India Auto, the holding company, held 51 per cent in the new entity which was subsequently renamed to Fiat India, where the Italian company increased its joint stake further to almost 100 per cent by 2005.
For further details visit as : business.rediff.com/report/2009/aug/03/fiats-third-coming.htm
changed to Premier as far back as 1973. However, what time could not do, competition did. The advent of Maruti [ Get Quote ] in the early 1980s, which quickly captured 80 per cent of the market (it also had 80 per cent of the industry capacity) left Fiat and Ambassador gasping in its wake. And the unbridled entry of foreign multinationals in the second half of the 1990s dramatically altered the look of India's roads. So much so that Fiat had to turn to a brand ambassador, Sachin Tendulkar [ Images ], in 19XX to re-establish itself when it sought to regain lost glory with Sienna, Uno, Palio and Adventure. (Maruti, well-entrenched as Fiat once was, has largely shunned brand ambassadors except for brief flirtations with Amitabh [ Images ] and Abhishek Bachchan [ Images ] for Versa [ Images ] and Farhan Akhtar [ Images ] for A-Star [ Images ].) Fiat entered into a technical tie-up with Mumbai [ Images ]-based, Doshi family-owned Premier Automobiles to produce the Uno in 1995 though their association was formed way back in the 1950's. It took control of the Kurla (suburb of Mumbai) operations three years later when Fiat India's automotive division was spun off as a seperate unit. Fiat India Auto, the holding company, held 51 per cent in the new entity which was subsequently renamed to Fiat India, where the Italian company increased its joint stake further to almost 100 per cent by 2005.For further details visit as : business.rediff.com/report/2009/aug/03/fiats-third-coming.htm
