FIAT to supply 1.3 litre multi-jet diesel engine to Premier

May 17, 2012 - PRLog -- Premier Limited, (formerly Premier Automobiles) and FIAT India Automobiles Ltd have signed a three year agreement for the supply of FIAT’s 1.3 litre multi-jet diesel engine to be used in Premier’s compact SUV RiO. FIAT will initially supply 28,000 engines to Premier during the agreement period. According to Premier, this volume may rise further with increased demand for the RiO. The engines will be made at FIAT’s Ranjangaon plant and supplied to Premier’s factory at Chinchwad, Pune, about 60 kilometres away, enabling daily, ‘just-in– time’ deliveries.

What is more, this is the same engine used by some of India’s leading car manufacturers. The commonality will enhance service, maintenance and spare parts availability for the Premier RiO all over India. Currently, most of the Premier RiO supply is to Tier-II and Tier-III cities, although there is a strong demand in metros as well. With this engine, the Premier RiO will now be BS-IV compliant thereby expanding its diesel offering to 14 cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Pune. Premier is planning to aggressively ramp up sales and volumes in these major vehicle markets. This engine will enhance the RiO’s power from 64 BHP currently, to 75 BHP for the diesel version. It will also enhance fuel efficiency from 16-18 kmpl.

Premier currently has a nationwide sales and service network of 60 dealers that is being raised to 100 by December this year. Furthermore, it is also setting up 200 Premier Authorised Service Stations (PASS) outlets that will also be equipped to support the RiO. The Pune-based auto maker is in the final stages of technical integration and expects to start initial deliveries by August-September.


Although not yet finalised, the ex-showroom price of the RiO with new engine is likely to be about Rs 45,000 higher than the present diesel engine on comparable models. Such a price difference is not unusual between BS-III and BS-IV products due to technical enhancements. For a full report, automotivehorizon.sulekha.com/fiat-to-supply-1-3-litre-multi-jet-diesel-engine-to_newsitem_4476