The Fiat Linea, which was presented in Istanbul last October, is now making its market debut in Turkey.
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The three-box Segment C saloon was developed by Tofas A.S., the 50-50 joint venture between Fiat Auto and Koç Holding which is listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange.
It will be manufactured in the plant in Bursa, Turkey (fully operative, output will reach 60,000 units per year) and will be marketed in a number of European and non-European countries: Spain, Germany, Morocco and Finland.
At a later date, the Fiat Linea will also be manufactured in Brazil, India, China and Russia.
Fiat says the car was designed for an ‘elegant, refined clientele’.
The company says the car ‘has a sparkle that is due primarily to its engines, which combine excellent performance, low consumption and absolute respect for the environment (they are all Euro 4)’.
At the launch the model will be offered with a choice between a petrol engine (1.4 8v, 77 bhp) and a turbodiesel (1.3 Multijet 16v, 90 bhp with a variable geometry turbo), both combined with five-speed mechanical transmissions; the 120 bhp 1.4 16v Turbo from the new T-Jet family will be available at a later date.
Fiat sees an opportunity for 3-box designs in the C-segment, noting that notchbacks account for only 5% of the European C-segment market.
In Turkey, however, segment C represents 52% of the whole market, and saloons account for 75% of this. The sales mix is 50% petrol and 50% diesel models.
The Fiat Linea is destined to become a strategic car for the Fiat range in China: the entire Chinese market totalled 4,000,000 vehicles in 2006, and is expected to reach 7,500,000 units by 2013, Fiat says.
A special version will be marketed in Brazil, powered by the new 130 bhp 1.9 Flexfuel engine (running on gasohol, which already contains about 22% ethanol, and pure bio-ethanol).
