Premier padmini fiat

INTRODUCTION
Premier padmi is a four-seater car that was manufactured at
their kurla plant in Mumbai India from 1964 to 2000. The padmini is
named after a 14thcentury rajput princess. padmini translates to "she
who sits on the lotus" and refers to the goddess lakshmi. It was also at
common name for girls in india at that time.The car, in its peak during the
1970s-1980s,achieved popularity among youngsters, celebrities and
women as compared to the hindustan ambassador, it looked more
modern in appearance, more fuel-efficient and was very easy to drive.
Cars were of foreign origin, padmini being an indigenized version of fiat
1100.The padmini's primary competitor in the indian market was the
hindustan ambassador and standard herald.This famous car Premier
padmini started off as the fiat 1100 delight in 1964 on indian roads. Yes,
the car came to life in italy under the roof of engineering marvel fabbrica
italiana automobile torino (known as fiat). Fiat 500 was the first car from
fiat which was assembled for indian market since 1951. In 1954, there
came a car which all indians called, the dukkar. Actually it was a fiat
1100-103, the predecessor of fiat 1100 d, an 1100cc and four door sedan
with its short tail. It transformed a lot before getting evolved into the fiat
1100d. Fiat 1100d gained pace when premier auto started producing it
for the indian market in 1964, under license from fiat.

At that time the market was dominated by the ambassador produced by

hindustan motors based in kolkata since 1958. The fiat 1100 delight was
the first car which actually challenged the monopoly of Hindustan motors
ambassador. It was sleek, compact, more streamlined and a looker than
ambassador thus, it did rise as a potent alternative for the ambassador.
Initially people used to address it as only fiat, later it gained its identity as
padmini. This car was assembled in premier auto’s plant in kurla,
mumbai till 1997 (the year when premier sold their stakes back to
parent). That is why mumbai has the largest number of padminis, be it
as taxi or as a personal vehicle. Padmini not only ruled the cab market of
mumbai but also ruled many hearts. Thus, it can still be seen in many
avatars now and then. After some complaints from consumers, an
improved version called viceroy was also launched at the end of its life
but then it was stopped in 2001. This car hasn’t got enough time to
breathe as competition started to arise very strongly and the main
competitor was the maruti 800!! Maruti 800 being common people’s car
which comes at cheaper price tag acted as competition killer for premier.
Finally premier stopped producing all these cars in 2001 and,
manufacturing of fiat stopped in India and brought to an end.

History
By the early 1980s, engine power was reduced to 42 bhp with a modified
carburettor to make it more fuel efficient 42 bhp (31 kw) at 5,000 rpm.
Premier began to offer an air-conditioning system, leather upholstery,
courtesy lights and tinted glasses in the padmini. These were considered
luxuries in indian cars at the time.
From the mid 1980s onward, the advent of more modern, cheaper and
more fuel-efficient cars from maruti Suzuki, the popularity of the padmini
slowly began to decrease. The liberalisation of the Indian economy in
1991, which allowed foreign car manufacturers to launch operations in
India, began to sound the death knell for the padmini. The fiat premier
padmini, for its design, however gained a special place within the mind
of at least one artist. The competitive landscape of sedans consisted
largely of vehicles sharing design lines far different to that of the
padmini. For example, maruti suzuki 1000, maruti Suzuki esteem,
daewoo cielo, honda accord, hyundai sonata and ford ikon. That a
campaign to promote padmini's distinguishing design, and enrich its
safety features together with the addition of a modern fuel efficient
engine did not exist, creates doubt in the mind/s of padmini's admirer/s
about the capability of premier's leadership. In 1996, premier tried to
revive the sagging fortunes of the padmini by introducing a more modern
variant. Named as the padmini s1, this variant had a more modern
radiator grille, bucket seats, a nissan floor-shift synchronised nissan
gearbox and a more powerful engine thanks to employing a solex
carburetor and use of a thermostat-controlled electric fan with an output
of 48 bhp (36 kw) of horsepower. A diesel variant, called the 137d was
also introduced, with the hope of taking advantage of the rising
popularity of diesel vehicles in india. Until then, the padmini was only
available with petrol engines. The 137d had similar specs as that of the
s1, the only difference lying in the engine, which was a diesel engine
built under license from fratelli negri macchine diesel sud (fnm), italy,
with a displacement of 1,366 cc and generating 45 bhp (34 kw). Its top
speed was close to 140 kmph, and its fuel efficiency was 24 kmpl.
Production was shut down only because of pal's management problems.
 Swot analysis
STRENGTH
 Sensible mergers and joint ventures: fiat operates in most of its
foreign markets like italy, india, turkey, pakistan. China, serbia, and
russia through joint ventures.the merger with chrysler was also a
master move. These relationships help them garner the best deals
in the business.
 Excellenctoperation : Fiat makes around 2 million cars annually
and has already been a very technology savvy brand. The company
has around 13,000 employees and through its tie-up with chrysler
has been able to take the support of brands like maserati and ferrari.
 Association with strong brands: fiat has had a rich past and
strong association with vintage and luxury car brands. Some of the
automobiles most iconic brands like ferrari and maserati are
associated with fiat.
 Repositioning strategy: fiat has always known as a heritage car
brand and most of its cars were of vintage quality. However, through
its 500 series, it attempted to keep track with the latest changes in
technology and emerging trends in automotive business. This
repositioning is seen as a fairly good move from the side of the
company.
WEAKNESSES
 Infrequent launches: in comparison to its competitors, the
number of vehicles launched by fiat in a year is miniscule. The
company has launched around 4 models in the last fifteen years
when the world has been going through a car revolution.

 Over-reliance on few brands: fiat looks up to the astounding

success tasted by two of its brands punto and panda in europe
and has been harping on these models. The company has not had
much to offer in terms of anything new except variants of the
existing models.
  Poor after sales service: in markets other than its home country
fiat has a poor history of after-sales service. The company suffers
from the lower number of service outlets and customers are
required to travel far away from their home for servicing their
vehicles, which in turn becomes a huge disadvantage.
 Availability of spares: the company has also been criticised for
poor circulation of spare parts. Customers often complain of service
delays because of unavailable spares for their fiat vehicles.
OPPORTUNITIES
 Growing need for cars as passenger vehicles: in an urban
setting, the car has almost become an indispensable asset as a
travel option because of the safety issues with two-wheelers and
poor roads. This has increased the demand for passenger vehicles
like hatchbacks and sedans which is where fiat positions most of
its offerings.

 Technology changes: price water house coopers has predicted

that the most disruptive innovations are going to take place in the
automobile sector with green and hybrid cars, self-driven vehicles,
autonomous vehicle systems and robot-driven cars. Each of these
may be a new opportunity for technology savvy companies like fiat.
 Personalisation in transportation: the next decade is expected
to witness a surge in the demand for personalized vehicles. This will
create a new market for carmakers.
THREATS
 Financial recession: the recession that has hot the world has
seen a dip in the car sales in the us and the trend has its impact in
europe as well. If the same moves to emerging economies then
most non-essential items will experience a dip in demand.
 Increase in costs: there has been a surge in raw material costs
and suppliers are also charging a premium. There has been also an
increase in research and development efforts which comes at an
exorbitant rate as well.

stp of company
SEGMENTING
 In order to align its strategy with the taste and preferences of the
customers the company defines the population features and
characteristics and so the automotive brand uses the mix
of demographic, psychographic and geographical segmentation strategy.

TARGETING
The fiat operates with different brands under its portfolio some of which
uses selective targeting strategy and other uses differentiated targeting
strategy.

POSITIONING
The company uses value-based and usage positioning strategy to create a
boastful image enriched with experience in the mind of the customers.
Current situa

After decades of dominating India’s roads, along with Hindustan Motors Ltd’s Ambassador, the
Padmini bowed out in 1997, making way for modern Japanese, Korean and American cars. In the two
decades that followed, Premier Ltd made an unsuccessful foray into engineering, arriving finally at
the bankruptcy court last month for defaulting on dues of ₹ 52 crore.
State-run Corporation Bank has approached the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law
Tribunal (NCLT) to recover dues from Pune-based Premier, said a person aware of the matter. The
matter is yet to be listed for a hearing.

“The dues include the principal amount of ₹ 31.17 crore and interest. The bank had declared the
company a non-performing asset (NPA) sometime in May 2016," the person cited above said on
condition of anonymity. “The bank has also suggested Atul Jain, partner of audit and consulting firm
GMJ and Co., as interim resolution professional in its petition filed in the tribunal."
Premier did not respond to a query from Mint.
In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, Premier said it had talks with Corporation Bank since it received
the insolvency notice, including on 11 December 2018, to arrive at an amicable settlement.
“Company has initiated steps to monetize its land assets in order to reduce its debt and is hopeful of
completing the same by the end of the current financial year," it added.

“Corporation Bank has indicated to the company that it is open to considering an amicable
settlement and the company is taking the requisite actions in this regard to achieve the same,"
Premier said, adding that it is also in talks with “Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Co. Ltd, its majority
secured debt holder, for a comprehensive restructuring plan".
Nishit Dhruva, managing partner of law firm MDP and Partners, which is representing the lender,
confirmed approaching NCLT, but did not elaborate as the matter is sub judice.
After closing its plant at Kurla in Mumbai in 1997, Premier moved into engineering, manufacturing of
wind energy components, power generation and infrastructure, but faced little success.
Premier’s roots trace back to 1952 when the company, then known as Premier Automobiles Ltd,
signed a licence agreement to make in India a version of Fiat 1100, also known as Millecento.

The venture marked the beginning of an independent automobile industry in India, and was followed
five years later by the Ambassador from Hindustan Motors, based on the British-designed Morris
Oxford of the early 1950s.
In the pre-liberalization India of limited purchasing options, the two cars became the vehicles of
choice for consumers. Users loved their ability to manoeuvre potholed roads, and both found loyal
buyers, until the Maruti 800 appeared on the scene, luring away a new generation of car buyers.
As Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, earlier known as Maruti Udyog Ltd, and other rivals expanded their
presence, Ambassador and Padmini took refuge in the taxi segment and held fort for a while, before
the Bombay high court ruled in 2009 that taxis older than 25 years be taken off the roads. In the
years that followed, Padmini cabs started fading away from Mumbai’s roads, one of its last bastions.
Production of the Ambassador stopped in 2014 and the brand was eventually sold to France’s
Groupe PSA.

In 2017-18, BSE-listed Premier posted a net loss of nearly ₹ 124 crore on a revenue of ₹ 20.07 crore.
It ended the year with a net debt of ₹ 375 crore.

P
 conclusion

fiat had the advantage of its previous presence in the market and hence was well known.Padmini
was an erstwhile popular name, however the focus of youth and recalling Padmini as a strong brand
had no evidence. Fiat lacked success in the last two decades and hence among dealers and
customers lost faith. Fiat had been quite strong in its financial management strategies as the JV with
Tata Motors was an ace and engine supply contract to Maruti was another. However, in its show
room only two models were present. In 2012, Fiat and Tata Motors jointly decided that Fiat would
handle its distribution and servicing independently. Also, Ratan Tata stepped down from the board of
Fiat, Italy. The future is highly uncertain for Fiat in the Indian passenger car industry