The carmaker wants to increase localisation levels in its vehicles as it looks to double its revenue by 2030 and maintain double-digit profit margins. However, despite plans to launch newer models, cracking the Indian market won't be easy, say experts
They are now a mighty force. And that could make all the difference, after all the years. For Stellantis—the automotive giant formed in 2021 after a merger between the Italian American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the French PSA Group—India isn’t unchartered territory. Fiat first became known to Indians in 1964, when the Mumbai-based Premier Automobiles Limited (owned by Walchand Group), joined hands with Fiat Automobiles and obtained licence to manufacture the Premier Padmini, known globally as Fiat 1100.
The Premier Padmini was a phenomenal success and once the mainstay of taxis in Mumbai. In the late 1990s, Fiat came directly to Indian shores and joined hands with Tata Motors to set up Fiat Group Automobiles India Private Limited in Pune, as India opened its economy to welcome foreign automakers. By 2012, the Fiat Chrysler group decided to go all alone in India, before deciding to shut the Fiat brand altogether in the country in 2019.