Premier Limited is in talks with Fiat for a possible commercial agreement to source its 1.3 liter multijet diesel engine for its compact SUV Rio. The Premium Limited is owned by the Walchand Hirachand Group used to manufacture the legendary Padmini car that dominated the Indian car market from 1955 to 1985. According to Mr. Maitreya Doshi, Chairman and Managing Director of Premier, the company is conducting tests on vehicles in Italy to ascertain the technical integration required.
He added that the company will sign an agreement based on component supply with Fiat. The company plans to source 6,000 to 8,000 units of the 1.3 liter multijet diesel engine which conforms to Bharat Stage IV emission standards and is used in Maruti Suzuki’s Swift and Tata Motors’ Vista.
Premier Limited which re-entered the car market in 2009 with Rio expects to boost the sales of its car by integrating the engine sourced from Fiat. According to Mr. Doshi, the Rio has faced low sales since its launch which is attributed to the lack of a BS IV engine, restricting its sale to Tier-II and Tier-III cities. With a BS IV engine, the company wishes to sell the Rio in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore.