In the past few days it has been announced that Fiat is in discussions to expand the scope of its new automotive alliances with Tata Motors in India and Severstal Auto in Russia. At the same time as these new developments are occurring, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed at the Geneva Motor Show last week that a new industrial partnership would be announced before the middle of this year.

Last year Fiat Auto struck up a new alliance with India's biggest carmaker Tata Motors, a 'Memorandum of Understanding' being signed that called for an investigation into the feasibility of co-operation in the areas of research and development, manufacturing, joint sourcing and distribution of products, materials and components.

The first stage of this new plan got underway on Monday with the official unveiling of 44 joint Fiat-Tata dealerships in 11 major Indian cities. The dealerships will sell Fiat's Palio, Petra and Adventure models alongside the Tata range. The new Grande Punto is expected to arrive in India shortly. Official word also came on Monday during the launch that the next steps of the alliance were being discussed, and these are likely to focus around Fiat's European distribution and dealer network taking on Tata Motor's products. "The two companies will explore various options while deciding on areas of co-operation," Giovanni de Filippis, Managing Director of Fiat India told reporters. "We will also explore the possibility of distributing Tata Motors’ cars in the European market as part of the overall business plan."

Meanwhile Rajiv Dube, Tata's Vice-President for Manufacturing and Commercial added that “Discussions are ongoing to explore other areas of co-operation in passenger cars, on which specific announcements can be expected once their feasibility is established." Tata Motors are a highly ambitious company who are looking to establish a global presence for their burgeoning range of passenger cars. last week at the Geneva Motor Show Tata unveiled their latest concept, the Ciffrider, which they describe as a "dynamic package that combines lifestyle and sporty usage with the practical functionality of a pick-up truck. The Concept showcases Tata Motors' idea of how a utility product could evolve in future for the discerning customer through a truly multi-purpose, multi-terrain usage of a car.

Meanwhile it has also been revealed that Fiat are looking to expand further on an agreement that was signed earlier this year which will see the Russian carmaker assembling the Fiat Palio, Siena and Doblo model ranges under licence.
 

On top of this Severstal Auto will also become an official Russian distributor for the three Fiat Auto brands: Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia, and they will establish a new network of dealerships across the country.

Fiat then announced last Friday that it had signed a new letter of intent with Severstal to examine the possibility of extending their co-operation across the Fiat Group's portfolio of industrial businesses. These talks are expected to consider fresh ventures involving Fiat's Iveco trucks and buses division, and the CNH Global agricultural equipment unit. Severstal, which is one of Russia's biggest steel producers, is also very keen to break into the Italian steel market, and this angle is expected to be focused on.