Fiat talks tech at its Caffe in Pune

Multifarious engines, a multitude of global operations, over one hundred years in the making and as we learned at a technological multimedia showcase that Fiat recently presented at its newly opened Caffe in Pune, a very strong Italian connect and a history lesson that went back to the invention of Marconi’s radio.

As a part of its new brand building campaign FIAT plans to host its one of a kind ‘Italian Technological Marvels’ exhibition at its Fiat Caffe in Pune over the next two months and as we experienced at their inaugural techno event try and create a great deal of awareness about the prowess of Italian engineering amidst some fine hospitality and the backdrop of its swanky lifestyle themed Caffe setup.

Among the many Italian innovations projected on the screens at the venue were marvels dating back to the mid 1800s such as Electric Motors, Batteries, Ball Bearings all the way to 1997, the birth year of Fiat’s very own Common Rail Direct Injection technology (Multijet) that till date finds use on not just Fiat vehicles alone, but also a number of its indigenous clients that now include Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and Premier.

Supported by Enrico Atanasio, Senior Vice President- Commercial Operations, Jayant Deb, Head- Engineering & Design and Gurpratap Boparai, Head- FIAT Powertrain, the technology exhibition much to our dismay brandished more on innovations of the past and few from the present, while completely omitting a peek into Fiat’s future innovations and ongoing research work in the automotive field.

The contingent did however clearly state that the company was quite satisfied with its current product portfolio here in India, and that it will not venture into higher segment cars as their specialization thrives in the B & C segments, and that they would like to continue their domination in the same sect.

On the technology front Enrico said that Fiat may consider bringing higher capacity engines to India but for now the ongoing success of their 1.3 litre Multijet diesel engines continues to fetch them great business, something they don’t see changing anytime in the near future.

The Italian auto major’s focus will now clearly be bent more towards attracting a larger customer base through a series of promotional activities during the festive season later this year, and parallely create a stronger sales and distribution network post their separation from Tata Motors, starting with the opening of its first independent Fiat dealership in the country in Hyderabad that will be followed by similar setups in several key cities across the country.