Auto major Tata Motors has approached carmaker Fiat to outsource its painting job to help it tide over the crisis arising from a fire accident in the paint shop at its Pune works. The company is faced with a pile-up of engines and chassis as vehicle shells await painting. The company is keen to a a disruption in its production scheduleespecially during the festive season.

Company sources told Business Line that Fiat's Kurla paint shop was likely to take up the job of painting Tata Motors cars even as it had simultaneously pressed the paint shop of its commercial vehicle business unit (CVBU) into 24X7 operation.

A Tata spokesperson when contacted maintained that the car plant's paint shop would begin production over the course of the next week but declined to give a specific date. "We have mobilised the two paint shops of the CVBU to minimise the impact on production but it will still take some time for us to ramp up to full volumes," the spokesperson said.

Replying specifically to a query if Tata Motors is approaching Fiat to outsource painting of its cars to its Kurla facilities, the spokesperson said, "While some of our pick-ups are usually painted by Fiat at Kurla, what we might do is increase the volumes of pick-ups that go there to tide over the situation so that capacities are released at our Pune plant."

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