MILAN: Italian auto giant Fiat and Tata Motors are in talks for a joint marketing project to sell Ferraris and Maseratis in India, news reports said on Thursday.
Mr Tata, who is also a Fiat director, told Italian daily La Stampa the two were studying further cooperation to add to existing projects such as a partnership to produce engines in India. ���We have various projects, to take the Nano to Latin America together, to share platforms for new cars, we have projects for (Fiat lorry unit) Iveco and marketing Ferraris and Maseratis,��� in India Mr Tata said. ���We are talking about a lot of things.���
Both Ferrari and Maserati brands are under Fiat���s control. Tata Motors is also present in the luxury car business, having acquired the British brands Jaguar and Land Rover for $2.3 billion from the US automaker Ford last year.
At the other end of the scale, Fiat and Tata are considering marketing the Tata Nano, the world���s cheapest car, in Latin America, where Fiat has a strong presence. Brazil is Fiat���s second-biggest market after Italy.
The Nano, the Rs 1-lakh car, hit the streets this month in India, and Tata has plans to export it to Europe, South America and Southeast Asia. The Nano passed the European ���crash test��� safety standard on Friday, allowing it to be sold in the Europe market and a launch is foreseen at the end of 2011, Mr Tata said. Fiat and Tata build cars, engines and gearboxes together in India, and Tata Motors is Fiat���s distributor in India.
