Fiat to assemble Abarth 500- Exclusive

Fiat will be introducing the Abarth 500 this year, however it will be making its way into India by the CKD route. Fiat had earlier introduced the Fiat 500, which was priced at about Rs 19-22 lakhs (on-road), when it was a CBU.

It was certainly an eye-turner, but it turned out to be an expensive deal.

The Abarth 500 has a more powerful engine and more luxurious too.

So, the pricing of the Abarth 500 will be higher than then sold Fiat 500. So, the Abarth 500 will be assembled in India. The duty for CKD is under 80 per cent, while CBU is in excess of 100 per cent. This will help Fiat to reduce the pricing of the Abarth 500. Though, this will prove to expensive for Fiat, as it will have to justify it with sales numbers for the Abarth 500.

The Abarth Punto will also make its way into India by that should be anytime before mid-2016. The amount of localisation on the Abarth will be much higher as it based on the Punto Evo platform, so there is a higher percentage of parts sharing.

It gets a 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine that produces about 140-150bhp of power. The Abarth 500 will be launched around August and will be priced between Rs 22-30 lakhs. This will be the same engine that will also power the Abarth Punto, however expect the automatic trim to make it to India than a manual.

The Abarth 500 costs about $35,000 for an automatic, which when translated into INR, will cost about Rs 35 lakhs, in it comes in as a CBU. Hence, the decision has been made to make it CKD. The idea to begin assembly of Abarth 500 and then add more models in the future. Fiat is looking at promoting Abarth and Jeep brands in India. On contacting the company officials, we did get a confirmation for the same.