Fiat to roll out Petra diesel soon

Fiat India is all set to launch the diesel version of the Petra, which was launched last month, in phases starting this month. The car will first hit the roads in south later this month and then make its way to a national launch in September.

Fiat, which has been working on a strategy to revive its sales in the C segment, did away with the Siena branding and re-badged its mid-sizer as Petra in May 2004. The company has met with very little success in the C segment but hopes Petra tag will do the trick.

The diesel car, which will have a 1.9 litre engine, is Fiat's first diesel offering in the C segment. It is expected to take on the diesel variants of the Tata Indigo and the new Maruti Esteem. Though the exact pricing of the diesel variant is not known the 1.6 litre petrol model retails at around Rs 478,000.

Meanwhile, Fiat India is still battling with an outflow of its top management with Ananda Mohan Gupta, director-commercial, being the latest in line to put in his papers.

Gupta, who joined a year ago from Honda Siel, was working on improving the distribution and service, two of Fiat's weak spots. Company sources said Gupta has moved out of the country to work with another multinational company.

Fiat India is writing off a Rs 1,300 crore (Rs 13 billion) loss from its existing equity capital of Rs 1,368 crore (Rs 13.68 billion) even as the Italian parent is set to invest another Rs 470 crore (Rs 4.7 billion) in the arm for new launches. Possible future launches include an Indica-like small car, Panda, and another model from the Alfa Romeo stable.