To strengthen its research and development (R&D) function within the country, Fiat India Automobiles

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(FIAPL) plans to double the headcount to 200 by next year. “We have around 100 people working in the R&D department. We want to double the number by next year,” said Rajeev Kapoor, CEO, FIAPL, on the sidelines of the launch of ‘Fiat First’ programme on Thursday in Mumbai.

‘Fiat First’ is a programme dedicated to servicing and extended warranty of Fiat badged cars. Kapoor said that so far the main job of the R&D team was confined to vehicle testing and looking at localisation of parts in India. “But now the domestic operations team will have lot of activities since it will participate in the worldwide initiatives of the parent company,” he said.

He, however, declined to divulge the investment the company would be making to step up R&D operations. FIAPL targets exports of 3,000-3,200 ‘Lineas’ to South Africa in the next 12 months. It plans to start exporting ‘Grande Punto’ to that country. The joint venture with Tata Motors is planning to export Linea to Saarc countries.

According to Kapoor, the company expects higher sales in the current month. He hoped the trend would continue in the next month as well. "The outlook for the car sector is buoyant. There is a lot of competition in the industry, but everybody is hoping to have good numbers," he said.

A Fiat car owner can use any of the ‘Fiat First’ services. This includes replacement or repair of a damaged part or flat tyre, fuel support, loss of keys, and battery jump-start in case of engine failure; that is, if the vehicle is within a 100 km radius of a Tata-Fiat dealership or service station.

Fiat India Automobiles, Kapoor said, was on track to reach up to 80 per cent localisation for Grande Punto by March next year, from the current position of 75 per cent. It has already been making Linea with 85 per cent local content.