The Fiat Nuova 500 has endeared itself to people the world over, and the sales of the Nuovo Cinquecento attest to that fact. Now you can walk in to your nearest Fiat dealer and get yourself one of these as well!

It isn’t cheap, at Rs 14.85 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi. It is about the size of the Swift, so to cost three times as much is something of overkill, but it is being imported as a CBU, which is what drives the price up so much. What doesn’t change is the millions of paint shades and interior colors that one can pick - us Indians, for once, get choice equal to any country in the world, except for engines. The 500 will have the 1.3-litre, 75bhp multijet diesel that features in the Palio and Suzuki Swift.

Fiat India is not aiming to make money off this car - it is a brand-building exercise to revive the Fiat brand in India. The annual sales target for this car is a mere 100 units. If you’re building a brand, play on the Ferrari connection, we say. Bring us the Abarths as well!

Audi, with its five models in India is all geared up to launch more luxury car models. The car manufacturer is also planning to have twelve dealers in place of seven by the end of the year as a part of its policy to increase sales..

AUDI HAD started its business in India in 2007. During its journey in the Indian car market, it currently has five models - Audi A8, Audi Q7, Audi A6, Audi A4 and Audi TT. Now Audi is geared up to launch more luxury car models in India.

According to Audi India’s managing director, Benoit Tiers, told reporters after launching the new Audi A4 sedan “We already have five models in India. We plan to launch more luxury car models in the Indian market, including the small car A3 at an appropriate time.

He also said that we are looking forward to sell 1,000 of our cars in the Indian market in 2008, compared to 350 cars last year on the back of growing demand for luxury cars in the market. The new Audi A4 will be a crucial product to help us achieve this goal.

The car manufacturer is presently having seven dealers in India. However, it is also planning to have twelve dealers in place of seven by the end of the year as a part of its policy to increase sales. Presently, it has showrooms in Delhi, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune and Chandigarh. Audi is opening five additional elite showrooms by the end of the current year in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata and Ludhiana. The company also plans to boost its dealer-network to 18 by 2009.