Fiat Planning To Launch Taxi Fleet In Calcutta

Italian car manufacturer Fiat, is eyeing Calcutta as a good market to launch its taxi fleet of the Linea classic.

This move is to increase the sales of the Fiat Linea sedan, which has seen a drop in sales of 18.6 percent during the April to October period.

Fiat is looking to capitalise the streets with the Linea, after the Ambassador, which ruled the streets of Calcutta for taxi service has now been stopped being manufactured.

Nagesh Basavanhalli, the President and Managing Director of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (Indian operations), said, "We hope to get the approval for this from West Bengal soon. We have already started to sell the model in the taxi market of Mumbai and Delhi."

The Italian manufacturer is exploring Tamil Nadu for the same service.

Sanjay Patodia, the Managing Director of Austin Fiat, a Calcutta based dealer says "In Bengal, we have proposed to the state for no-refusal and luxury taxis as they have recently come up with an offer for new taxis. We are hoping for some feedback in the next seven to 10 days."

The carmaker is also looking to increase its dealership network to 150, by opening another 25 outlets in India.