UMumbai, April 2 2007U: Fiat marked a red letter day in its history in India with the formal inauguration of the Ranjangaon plant (near Pune) by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh. Also present at the occasion were Industries Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Ashok Chavan, the Secretary - Industry, Shri V.K Jairath, along with top officials and senior management of Fiat and Tata Motors. The occasion also saw the rollout of Fiat’s new Palio Stile.
The Rs.4000 crore Ranjangaon project, which is a fruition of the industrial joint venture between Fiat Group Automobiles and Tata Motors announced in December 2006, will produce both Fiat and Tata Motors cars and Fiat Powertrains.
The first phase sees the production of Fiat Palio Stile which has already commenced in February. The commercial launch is planned on April 4, 2007 at Mumbai. The body shop welding and assembling operations are in full swing. The plant will see a second step in 2008, with the production of Fiat’s new cars like the Grande Punto and the Linea. At full capacity, the Ranjangaon plant will produce in excess of 100,000 cars and 200,000 engines and transmissions yearly. The 1.3 multi-jet small diesel engine will be manufactured along with the FIRE petrol engine envisaged in different variants.
In a symbolic gesture, the Managing Director of Fiat India, Mr. Giovanni de Filippis, handed the keys of the first Palio Stile, rolled out from the facility, to Mr. Rajiv Dube, President – Tata Motors Passenger Car Business Unit. Tata Motors, as the distributor of Fiat cars, undertakes the marketing, sales and service of the range through a country-wide Tata-Fiat network of 63 dealerships covering 42 cities.
Commenting on the historic opening of the plant, Mr. Stefan Ketter, Senior Vice President Manufacturing of Fiat Group Automobiles, said, “It is a great day for Fiat in India. The Ranjangaon project with Tata is a crucial milestone in our agenda and its inauguration lays down the foundation for a long journey ahead. Our decision to shift our production activity to Ranjangaon is based on the objective of achieving cost efficiencies and building a world-class manufacturing plant.”
Speaking on the occasion, the Managing Director of Tata Motors, Mr. Ravi Kant, said, “The Ranjangaon plant, in which Tata Motors will be investing as a 50% partner, is yet another firm step in the progression of the strategic alliance between our two organisations. The plant will help our products benefit from Fiat’s global manufacturing practices and technology.”
The Ranjangaon plant is situated in an Industrial Development Zone, with a total land area of 8, 50,000 sq. meters.

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