Fiat Abarth Punto, Avventura production suspended to accommodate Jeep C-SUV: Report

Italian auto-maker Fiat has temporarily halted the production of the Abarth Punto and the Avventura at the Ranjangaon factory in India to accommodate newer models like the Jeep C-SUV. According to a report of RushLane, the Jeep C-SUV, which is internally called Jeep 551, is expected to be rolled out by early 2018. It will be manufactured at the company's India plant in Ranjangaon.

Fiat, which is believed to have enough inventory of the Abarth Punto and the Avventura, has suspended the production of the models at the plant. Suspending the production of the Fiat models is unlikely to affect the sales as they cater to the niche segment. Fiat has invested $280 million on the production of the upcoming SUV at Ranjangaon. The C-SUV is expected to come powered by a 2.0-litre MultiJet II diesel unit.

The Abarth Punto and Avventura, the high performance models which joined Fiat's line-up in India last October, are powered by a 1.4-litre T-JET turbocharged petrol engine. While the engine develops 145bhp and 200Nm of torque mated to five speed manual transmission in Abarth Punto, Abarth Avventura makes 140bhp of power and 212Nm of torque mated to five-speed manual transmission.