It’s been almost 10 years. 10 years since Fiat first launched the Punto in India. Through the years, it has received several updates and also an ‘Evo’lutionary upgrade. The European journey for the third-gen Punto has been similar. Since its launch back in 2005, it has received incremental updates over the years. While almost everyone agrees that the Fiat Punto was a fun hatchback to drive, even in non-Abarth trim, Fiat struggled to convince everyone that it deserved their money - especially in India. You can argue that Fiat was not proactive enough to keep up with the competition in terms of providing features. Or that a powerful engine should have been added to match that sweet handling chassis much earlier than 2015, even if it didn’t have 147PS of explosive power. Fiat’s comparatively thin service network and stories of high spare parts costs also didn’t help matters. The Punto Evo and its various variants (Avventura, Urban Cross) have collectively been able to find less than 100 customers each month since October 2017, with a few enthusiasts keeping the brand alive. Now, Fiat Chrysler in Europe has taken the decision to finally end the production of the Punto Evo. The hatchback had been in continuous production at the company’s Melfi plant in Italy for 13 years straight. An ageing platform which cannot support newer, fuel-efficient, lower emission engines, a zero-star NCAP safety rating revision (fun story, read details here) and the shift in focus to compact-SUVs/crossovers have made the Punto obsolete. Unfortunately, Fiat has no plans to revive the brand anytime soon with a new hatchback in Europe, though Latin American markets do get a spiritual successor in the form of the Argo. Fiat India could follow suit soon as Indian emissions and safety regulations become tougher in the next couple of years. At the same time, it couldn’t care less too, considering the Jeep brand is bringing in the big bucks.

Source: zigwheels.com