Indian Autos blog

If Big Bazaar and Westside were not enough, Tata is planning to open exclusive showrooms just for the Nano.

Tata Motors spokesperson told PTI -

We are exploring appointing full fledged dealerships only for the Tata Nano in small towns

The company wants to replicate the success that it garnered with their mini truck – Ace, which has 600 standalone stores alongside normal dealerships in the country. As of now, Tata Nano is available through the company’s 617 regular dealerships, 151 Tata authorized service centers and can be experienced at 210 access points including Big Bazaar and Westside.

To be honest, we think that it is a bit of a wasteful expenditure to have exclusive dealerships just for one car. This will not only eat through the profits but will eventually lead to rise in the prices of the Nano itself. If they really want to increase the reach of the Nano is small towns and villages, they might as well have exclusive tie ups with rural shopping malls such as Aadhaar, Kisan Sewa Kendras and e-chaupals to sell the Nano.

Ratan Tata’s dream child – the Tata Nano hasn’t quite dominated the market as one expected. Heck, it hasn’t even challenged the supremo Maruti Alto in that segment. Sure, the Singur event, the fire controversies, manufacturing & delivery issues and other factors had a lot to do with the slow progress of the Nano in terms of sales. But Tata Motors also felt that the ‘distribution aspect’ of the car  [ Read More ]

The Tata Nano certainly needs a touchy-feely advertisement to bring it back into our minds. The tagline “Key to your happiness” is apt for the Nano which is facing a tough time in our market. Its features and Indian family-oriented design is reflected well in this ad which opens with a girl asking her grandmother when the Nano will arrive home.

The storyline then shifts to the Nano’s journey to the Indian home. It’s acceleration and space are highlighted as two-wheeler commuters are surprised by its pickup. It also proves its ability to tackle bad roads and no roads as it draws the interest of people on the road like it does in real life.

Once the Nano arrives home, it brings along joy. The girl hugs the car, the family gets ready to welcome it with the usual traditions. The girl notices everyone in the neighborhood admiring the car, and to save it from evil and prying eyes, she applies some of her eyeliner on the car.

The Ad’s message is people commuting on three-wheelers and two-wheelers can shift into a Nano with its 4 year warranty and affordable attributes.

Very nice. Very well done Tata Motors!

Tata ads always have a comic flavor. The Nano then is the first time Tata lent a touchy-feely tone and rightly so.

Image (Tata Nano Europa) for illustrative purpose only

Autocar India reports Tata Motors will reopen bookings for the Tata Nano nationwide on August 15. Bookings have been declared open on August 3rd in Kerala predicting strong demand for this car before the Onam festival in the state.

The company began production of the Nano at the mother plant in Sanand, Gujarat earlier in June and has been working constantly to increase production since then.

Tata Motors, according to Autocar India, hopes to boost volumes to 20,000 Nanos a month by March 2011, which will make it the second largest car manufacturer in our country.

Tata Nano could teach school students driving manners and safety as it is easily accessible

True, the dream has become a reality. Kudos, to Mr. Ratan Tata and team, it is a great achievement to see the Nano. Honestly, before I saw the car, I was one of those people who was against the idea of seeing it on the roads. I was completely selfish in thinking – what a Rs. 1 lakh car? that’s more traffic on the roads.

I even agreed with the idea that this car would add to air pollution and other environmental problems (as its target customers are at the bottom of the pyramid – the masses). I do not turn my engine off at the signals, my aircon is constantly on and I have two cars. How can I agree to the idea that the Nano adds to the pollution? And what can I do about the traffic?, It is for the government to manage. I can only contribute by staying off the roads or using public transport.

After seeing the Nano, I felt like a complete idiot. First, how did Tata pull it off? The Nano appealed to me as one of the best designed and engineered cars from the Tata stables. Then the question? Why should I buy this car? for that matter why should any one buy this car?

*Let us stick to basics. I would not like to get in to the specifics of the Nano, there is much info available on that.

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Tata Motors says it will deliver up to 60,000 units of the ultra-cheap Nano, by July 2010, Touted as the world’s cheapest car, the Nano is getting its passport prepared to wade international waters after the mother plant Sanand reaches completion.

Ratan Tata said the new Sanand plant will be ready by the financial year end and it would have a capacity of 250,000 units per year.

The Nano is currently manufactured at the Pantnagar facility, where the Ace pickup truck is made, which has an annual capacity of 50,000 cars.

The company says the first 1,00,000 deliveries will be completed by October-December 2010 from both the facilities.

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Tata Motors has just decided to allot land to its 55-odd Nano parts vendors at Sanand in Gujarat. The vendors have been asked to set up facilities by October so that the Nano can roll out from the Sanand factory by Jan 2010. A Tata spokesperson said “More than 60% of the Sanand plant construction work is over”

The Italian Auto major -FIAT has said that India will play an important role in the launch of FIAT’s low cost car brand which is expected by year 2010.

Earlier, Fiat had plans of confining the low cost brand to the European markets. Now though, FIAT is considering India as a key hub for its new brand chiefly for supply of cheap yet durable components.