Introduced on Monday during the inauguration of Fiat India's plant at Ranjangaon, the Palio Stile will be officially launched in Mubai today before going on sale in the Fiat-Tata showrooms tomorrow. Production of this revised version of the hatchback has been underway at the Ranjangaon factory in Pune for several weeks ahead of its presentation.

Fiat’s new Palio Stile, is visually very similar to the existing model, but under the skin it has been modified as well as efforts made to render the interior more upmarket. The car is available in two petrol engine options. The fuel efficient Palio Stile 1.1 (which arrives on the market in three versions – SL, SLE and SLX) comes with a 4-cylinder 1.1-litre petrol FIRE engine, providing a maximum power of 57 PS at 5,250 rpm and excellent Torque of 92 Nm at low rpm of 2750. This enables a high fuel average of 15.5 Km/l under test conditions.

With a design that has been configured with automotive enthusiasts firmly in mind, the Palio Stile 1.6 Sport version comes with a 1.6-litre engine with an increased power of 100 PS at 5,500 rpm and with maximum torque of 137 Nm at 4250 rpm. It is the only sporty B segment hatchback available on the market in India. Both models come with an Electronic multipoint fuel injection, 32 bit microprocessor Fuel system. The Palio Stile comes with a manual gearbox with 5 forward gears plus reverse, an all speed synchromesh and it is front wheel drive.

The car is equipped with all desired features such as power steering, central locking, fire prevention system (FPS), engine immobiliser and fog lamps. The interiors of the Palio Stile are beige in colour, sporting a trendy two toned dash board, comfortable seats and a very low index of articulation (quietness of cabin). The new Palio Stile will be attractively priced and will be available in Tata-Fiat Showrooms across the country from tomorrow (April 5th).

Meanwhile the new Palio Stile took centre stage on Monday as Fiat marked a red letter day in its history in India with the formal inauguration of the Ranjangaon plant (near Pune) by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh. Also present at the occasion were Industries Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Ashok Chavan, the Secretary - Industry, Shri V.K Jairath, along with top officials and senior management of Fiat and Tata Motors. The occasion saw the rollout of the new Palio Stile.

The Ranjangaon project, which is a fruition of the industrial joint venture between Fiat Group Automobiles and Tata Motors announced in December 2006, will produce both Fiat and Tata Motors cars and Fiat powertrains.
 

The total cost of the project will be Rs. 4,000 Crore. The first phase sees the production of Palio Stile, which has already commenced in February ahead of its commercial launch in Mumbai today. The body shop welding and assembling operations are in full swing. The plant will see a second step in 2008, with the production of Fiat’s new cars like the Grande Punto and the Linea. At full capacity, the Ranjangaon plant will produce in excess of 100,000 cars and 200,000 engines and transmissions yearly. The 1.3 multi-jet small diesel engine will be manufactured along with the FIRE petrol engine envisaged in different variants. The development of the Powertrain project will enable production of high quality engines and transmissions relying upon the expertise in development and production of Fiat Powertrain Technologies.

In a symbolic gesture on Monday, the first Palio Stile which rolled out from the facility was handed over to Tata Motors, distributor of Fiat cars, undertaking marketing, sales and service of the range through a country-wide Tata-Fiat network of 63 dealerships covering 42 cities.

Commenting on the historic opening of the plant, Mr. Stefan Ketter, Senior Vice President Manufacturing of Fiat Group Automobiles, said, “It is a great day for Fiat in India. The Ranjangaon project with Tata is a crucial milestone in our agenda and its inauguration lays down the foundation for a long journey ahead. Our decision to shift our production activity to Ranjangaon is based on the objective of achieving cost efficiencies and building a world-class manufacturing plant.”

Speaking on the occasion, the Managing Director of Tata Motors, Mr. Ravi Kant, said, “The Ranjangaon plant, in which Tata Motors will be investing as a 50% partner, is yet another firm step in the progression of the strategic alliance between our two organisations. The plant will help our products benefit from Fiat’s global manufacturing practices and technology.” The Ranjangaon plant is situated in an Industrial Development Zone, with a total land area of 8, 50,000 sq. meters.