The Fiat 500 has arrived in India, the award-winning city car which has taken Europe by storm was recently launched during a glittering function at opulent Taj Lands End hotel in Mumbai. However there will be little pressure on the waiting lists from customers in India, demand that has seen Fiat now planning to push production at the Tychy plant in Poland over 200,000 units unit mark per year; instead Fiat India has projected a target of just 100 units per annum.

As such the Fiat 500 is being marketed as a 'halo' car to bolster the recent re-launch of the brand in the country, a revival that started with a freshened up version of the locally-built Palio hatchback which is to be soon followed into the showrooms by the Bravo, Grande Punto and Linea.

The Fiat 500, which is being imported fully assembled, has been set a starting price tag of 14.85 lakh (on the road) and comes equipped with the 75 bhp 1.3 Multijet 16v. Fiat hope it will attract fashion-conscious buyers as its ex-showroom cost is three times that of the Suzuki Swift, a widely sold car of comparable size that also uses the Fiat 1.3 Multijet 16v engine, which is also available in the facelifted Palio.

The Car of the Year 2008 award winner is available in India in a choice of 11 body colours and a large percentage of the customisation programme (500,000 permutations are specified in Europe) will be available in India, offering a depth of options previously unseen in the country.