Opinion - Has The Worlds Cheapest Car Nano Failed To Deliver

Opinion - Has The Worlds Cheapest Car Nano Failed To Deliver

An automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally for the transport of people rather than goods. However, the term automobile is far from precise, because there are many types of vehicles that do similar tasks.

There are approximately 600 million passenger cars worldwide (roughly one car per eleven people). Around the world, there were about 806 million cars and light trucks on the road in 2007; they burn over 1 billion m³ (260 billion US gallons) of petrol/gasoline and diesel fuel yearly. The numbers are increasing rapidly, especially in China and India.

The world’s smallest and cheapest four-seater car, the Tata Nano, rolled out by Tata Motors, has failed to deliver with middle-class Indians eager to buy an 'affordable car', following safety problems.Sales dipped by an alarming 85 per cent, to 509 units Nanos last month, compared same month of November in 2009 after at least six of them caught fire, the last one in New Delhi in August. This was the fourth straight month of falling sales from the high of 9,000 cars in July.

Dramatic footage of fires on TV news channels had a negative impact on the sale of the two-cylinder, 600cc Nano.'Though I received total compensation for the [burnt] car I lost faith in the product', said Ahmedabad-based businessman Ravindra Bhagat, one of Nano's first customers after its commercial launch, 17 months ago

Market analysts said another reason for poor sales was Tata's offer of free retrofits to more than 71,300 Nano owners to safeguard their cars against fire. It compromised its stand by installing additional safety features to the cars' exhausts and electrical systems, further triggering uncertainty among potential customers.

Market analysts said another reason for poor sales was Tata's offer of free retrofits to more than 71,300 Nano owners to safeguard their cars against fire.And though Tata called it an 'upgrade' and not a 'recall', it compromised its stand by installing additional safety features to the cars' exhausts and electrical systems, further triggering uncertainty among potential customers.

Company officials said they were trying to improve 'interaction' between the customer and the financier and had even launched an exchange scheme under which the owner of a two-wheeler could trade his vehicle for a Nano, its value adjusted against the car price, and this way, its financing would be made easier.

Tata Motors is leaving no stone unturned in the Indian market to boost its sales, after its dismaying performance of 509 units in November 2010. Tata Motors has not only met the vendors and dealers to motivate them and take them into confidence, but the company is also now planning to introduce an upgraded variant of the car as well

The upgraded Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car, will come with power steering, which makes driving easier, and a five-speed gear box. The new variant, which will be launched in the first quarter of 2011, will also have more frills such as adjustable seats, said two industry executives close to the company. The five speed gear box or transmission is intended to improve fuel efficiency and make it easier to drive the car at higher speeds

Reference

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Nano
http://toostep.com/idea/why-tata-nano-is-almost-dead-already
http://www.exporterpages.com