Fiat India Automobiles Private Limited (FIAPL) is a 50-50 Industrial Joint
Venture between Fiat Group Automobiles S. p. A., (Fiat) and Tata Motors Limited
(Tata) originally incorporated on January 02, 1997. The company presently
employs about 600 employees and is located at Ranjangaon in the Pune District
of Maharashtra. The definitive agreement of the Joint Venture was signed on
October 19th 2007. The board of directors for this company comprises of five
nominees each from Fiat and Tata.
The state-of -the-art facility at Ranjangaon, will have an installed capacity to
produce 100,000 cars and 200,000 engines, besides aggregates and components.
The company plans to double the production capacity for both car units and
engines in the next few years. Currently manufacturing the Palio Stile 1.1 and
1.6 models, premium Fiat cars such as the Grande Punto and Linea are expected
to roll out soon in the B and C segment from the facility within 2008. The
facility will also manufacture Fiat’s successful 1.3 litre Multijet diesel
engines and 1.2 & 1.4 litre Fire gasoline engine. Apart from Fiat cars, the
facility will also produce Tata passenger and next generation cars with
investment exceeding € 650 Million. The plant is expected to provide direct and
indirect employment to more than 4,000 people.
Fiat, which holds a 50% stake in the Company, also owns and controls five
internationally renowned brands:- Fiat Automobiles, Alfa Romeo Automobiles,
Lancia Automobiles, Abarth and Fiat Light Commercial Vehicles, the makers of
renowned cars such as the Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Lancia besides the
Fiat branded cars.
Tata Motors Limited, the other partner to the Joint Venture, is the largest
automobile company in India, with revenues of Rs. 32,426 crores (USD 7.2
billion) in 2006-07. It is the leader in commercial vehicles in every segment
and the second largest in the passenger vehicles market with winning products
in the compact, mid-size car and utility vehicle segments. The company is the
world’s fifth largest medium and heavy commercial vehicle manufacturer and the
world’s second largest medium and heavy bus manufacturer.