From spreading out to neighboring countries like Sri Lanka and Nepal, indulging in diamonds and gold to celebrate 5,000 years of Indian jewellery, having a whacked-out sibling powered by a 1,600cc superbike engine and the lover-boy Valentine edition, to presenting itself in Europe as the crisis-ducking transportation solution, the Nano’s enjoyed a larger than life image.
In spite of people comparing it to Pokemon, asking it to be fitted with a fire extinguisher or calling it a sales dud, the Nano has found ways to fly through turbulent weather and emerge with the wings in tact.
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A recent report in TheEconomicTimes has highlighted a fundamental shift in the Indian automotive market.
It seems that for the first time in the history of the Indian automotive scene, the overall share of the entry level hatchbacks has fallen below 50%.
The entry level hatchbacks are the bread and butter for most manufacturers. Although this segment is dominated by Maruti Suzuki’s Alto, other competitors such as the Eon, Santro, Spark and Nano easily cross the 1,000 units marker each month.
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Tata Motors went from pillar to post to sell the Nano to the masses. They even tied up with retail giant Big Bazaar to not only showcase the Nano but also sell it from their malls. The trick turned out to be so successful that Tata Motors has tied up with Big Bazaar one more time to sell the Indigo eCS.
Tata Motors has also devised a clever ad campaign called ‘25 ka Tadka’ to emphasize the 25 km/l mileage claimed for the Indigo eCS. 40 Big Bazaar outlets will display the Indigo eCS along with other 25 top discounted household products.
Speculation is rife about Tata Motors investing in Jucu, near the Cluj-Napoca area of Romania after a report emerged on news service MediaFax. The county’s council chief Alin Tise said meetings were held with Tata officials but declined to elaborate on the matters discussed between the two parties. The investment value or the number of jobs stipulated is not yet known, it could run into millions of dollars.
What we do know is Tata’s trying to spread its wings with the Nano project. We’ve told readers how Bangladesh and Indonesia could get assembly lines for the Nano soon after the performance of the imported models is gauged.
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If you recall two years ago DC Design set off on designing a custom Tata Nano expected to retail for over one crore rupees. You won’t hear that everyday – no wonder it made headline news around the world. Newspapers in India ran the story days before the Auto Expo. Some publication went as far as reporting on an Auto Expo unveiling. It was not to be and all we got was the odd-ball body kits through Carnation outlets.
A recent report on The Hindu BusinessLine provides more insight on this elusive creation. DC silently finished the project last year adding goodies such as a drive-by-wire system akin to cars many times its actual price, LCD touchscreen and shipped the one-off Nano to a buyer in England who runs a company that supplies components to the Nano (did he mean Caparo?).
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After keeping their word to the Indian common man, Tata Motors think it’s about time to entice Indonesian masses with the launch of its home-grown hero, Nano. As per the reports on local newspapers, Tata Motors have already set up an office in Jakrata and intend to launch the car for the Indonesian market, sometime later in 2012.
At the initial sales stage cars will be imported directly from Tata’s Sanand plant in India. Later as the sales drive up the demand Tata Motors plan to assemble the Nano in Jakrata. The decision to build an assembly line will be taken only when Tata senses growing demand.
After Sri Lanka and Nepal, it is destination Bangladesh for the Tata Nano. The Bangladeshi distributor for Tata vehicles Nitol Group has addressed the local media after the deal was finalized. The first lot of 200 cars arrives in February. The target volume is 2,000 units a year and the target customers are not only in the capital city of Dhaka but in the outskirts where lower-middle income groups reside in large numbers.
The distributor is counting on the Nano to deliver big. Over the next four years the sales target is 12,000 units a year. Through local assembly, the prices are brought down and achieving this figure is a lot easier. The decision on an assembly line is pending as the response to the car can be verified only after the launch.
The price of the Nano will start at 4.08 lakh rupees (650k Taka). Tata has not elaborated on the export plan for Nano but a top company official has told Wall Street Journal, without being explicit, that the Nano will be exported to South East Asian countries. Countries like Thailand, Myanmar and Indonesia don’t have to wait very long before the Nano reaches their shores.
We were fresh off the Toyota Etios recall, and we have more recall news – Tata Motors has officially announced that it will recall all Nanos on the streets (except for the 2012 models) to replace the starter motors with the updated version fitted to the 2012 model. There were many instances of the starter motor failures in the previous Nanos and thus the company has taken this decision.
Read an in-depth review of the 2012 Tata Nano
The starter motor, as the name suggests, is responsible for kick starting the engine’s operation from dormancy. This is the second major recall for the Nano, the previous one being done to install safety protection after the ‘catching-fire’ fiasco.
The recall applies to all previous generation Nanos irrespective of date of production. The whole process of replacing the starter motor will be done free of cost. The company’s spokesperson stressed on the fact that ‘it is not a safety concern’. The operation could cost Tata Motors around 1.1 billion rupees.
So if you got a Nano, contact your dealer soon!
From spreading out to neighboring countries like Sri Lanka and Nepal, indulging in diamonds and gold to celebrate 5,000 years of Indian jewellery, having a whacked-out sibling powered by a 1,600cc superbike engine and the lover-boy Valentine edition, to presenting itself in Europe as the crisis-ducking transportation solution, the Nano’s enjoyed a larger than life image.
