The Tata Nano is a city car manufactured by Tata Motors currently made and sold primarily in India. The Nano was initially launched with a price of one lakh rupees or ₹100,000 (US$1,600), which has increased with time. Designed to lure India's burgeoning middle classes away from motorcycles, it received much publicity, but the sales expectations were not met. Multiple issues like factory relocation from Singur, instances of Nano catching fire, and the perception of Nano being unsafe and lacking quality due to cost cutting led to the decline of sales volume. As compared to Tata Motor's aspiration of 250000 unit sales annually at the time of launch, sales in FY 2016-17 was 7591 units only. The car is a loss making product for Tata Motors as disclosed by former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry and confirmed by current Tata Motors management. Tata Motors has confirmed that despite no demand the production of the car will continue for some more time due to the emotional connect of the product with the Tata Group.
History
After having successfully launched the low cost Tata Ace truck in 2005, Tata Motors began development of an affordable car that would appeal to the many Indians who ride motorcycles. The purchase price of this no frills auto was brought down by dispensing with most nonessential features, reducing the amount of steel used in its construction, and relying on low cost Indian labour.
The introduction of the Nano received much media attention due to its low price.
Expectations and effects
Expectations created for the car during the run up to its production may have been out of proportion with its realised success. A 2008 study, by Indian rating agency CRISIL, thought the Nano would expand the nation's car market by 65%, but, as of late 2012, news reports have detailed the underwhelming response of the Indian consumer to the offering; sales in the first two fiscal years after the car's unveiling remained steady at about 70,000 units although Tata appears intent on maintaining a capacity to produce the car in much larger quantities, some 250,000 per year, should the need arise.
It was anticipated that its 2009 debut would greatly affect the used car market, and prices did drop 25â€"30% prior to the launch. Sales of the Nano's nearest competitor, the Maruti 800, fell by 20% immediately following the unveiling of the Nano. It is unknown if the Nano has had a lasting effect on the prices of and demand for close substitutes, however. In July 2012, Tata's Group chairman Ratan Tata, who retired in January 2014, said that the car had immense potential in the developing world while admitting that early opportunities were wasted due to initial problems.
Singur factory pullout
Tata Motors announced in 2006 that the Nano would be manufactured in Singur, West Bengal. Local farmers soon began protesting the forced acquisition of their land the new factory entailed. Tata first delayed the Nano launch and later decided to build the car in a different state, Gujarat, instead.
Price
Announced as the most affordable production car in the world, Tata aimed for a price of one lakh rupees, or ₹100,000, which was approximately $2,000 US at the time. Only the very first customers were able to purchase the car at that price, however, and as of 2017, the price for the basic Nano starts around ₹ 215,000. Increasing material costs may be to blame for this rapid rise in price.
Compared to the Volkswagen Beetle it has a relatively low price, however. In 1990, a Beetle from Mexican factories was priced at $5,300, about $9,716 in today's money. The Ford Model T's initial price was about $850, equivalent to $22,657 today. The price of the Nano is only just higher than the corrected Price of the Briggs & Stratton Flyer with the Flyer costing US$125 ($1,767 in 2016), even though the Flyer would today hardly be considered a gokart.
The second-generation Nano was expected to be sold in the United States by 2015. The original Nano is not street legal in the US, and cannot legally be sold as a grey market import until 2034, when the original 2009 models receive a 25-year exemption from the US Customs and Border Protection. Despite a readily-available dealership network in the US through the Jaguar Land Rover division of Tata, Tata Motors will not use Jaguar Land Rover to sell the Nano.
Cost-cutting features
The Nano's design implements many measures to reduce manufacturing costs.
Comparison with the Maruti 800, the Tata Nano's closest competitor:
Technical specifications
The Nano (2012) is a 38Â PS (28Â kW; 37Â hp) car with a two-cylinder 624 cc engine mounted in the rear of the car.
The car complies with Bharat Stage 4 Indian Emissions Standards, which are roughly equivalent to Euro 4.
The development of the Nano had led to 31 design and 37 technology patents being filed.
Alternative powerplants
While the Nano is driven by a petrol engine, several more-radical powerplants have been proposed but not put into production. Also, an upscale version was shown at an autoshow.
Compressed-air engine
Tata Motors signed an agreement in 2007 with a French firm, Motor Development International, to produce a compressed air car Nano. While the vehicle was supposed to be able to travel approximately 200 kilometres (120Â mi) on $3 US of electricity to compress the air, Tata's Vice-President of Engineering Systems confirmed in late 2009 that vehicle range continues to be a problem.
Electric vehicle
Tata has discussed the possibility of producing an electric version, and while it showcased an electric vehicle Nano at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, no such car is currently on the market.
If an EV Nano is sold it is expected to be a highly affordable electric car, use lithium-ion batteries, and have a range of 80 miles (130 km). A Norwegian electric car specialist, Miljøbil Grenland AS, has been named as a supposed partner in the project.
Bi-fuel variant
The Nano CNG emax was launched in October 2013. It can run on either gasoline or compressed natural gas. Initially, it will be sold in Delhi and parts of Maharashtra and Lucknow, where CNG is available at fuel outlets.
Tata Super Nano
In December 2014, Coimbatore-based JA Motorsport presented a 230Â hp 1.3-liter engined version of the Nano called the 'Super Nano' at the Autocar Performance Show. Featuring a full body kit, slick tyres, a bolt-on roll cage, and smoked head and taillamps, the Super Nano featured carbon fibre components, Recaro seats, and steering-mounted paddle shifters.
European export
An upscale Nano concept car called the Europa was shown at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. However, there has been no progress towards producing or marketing this upscale specification.
Car fires
There were reports of several fire incidents involving the Nano. The company denied those were connected to the car's design or its parts and blamed "foreign electrical equipment" found on top of the exhaust system. The company offered to retrofit the exhaust and electrical systems but refused to recall the cars. Tata extended the warranty on the car, including those already sold, from 18 months to four years in early December 2010.
Reception
The Nano has received mixed reception from Indian consumers, reasons given have included that it is still too expensive compared with a motorcycle. Although it is identified as the most affordable car, a secondhand car that was more expensive when it was new gives more social status; the Nano is considered a "poor man's" vehicle, turning some people away. The fires and other safety issues have also been a concern.
Crash safety
In 2014, a Nano was crashed for NCAP by ADAC in Germany. Despite Tata's claim that it was expecting 4 stars, the Nano got no stars for lack of adult protection and did not meet basic UN safety requirements.
Sales
At the time of launch Tata Motors planned to sale 250,000 units per year. The maximum sales ever achieved was 74,527 units during FY 2011-2012 and then sales declined rapidly year on year leading to a negligible market share of the car in the "A" segment. The product is likely to be phased out soon as dealers have stopped placing orders.
FY 2009â€"2010 30,000 approx
FY 2010â€"2011 70,432
FY 2011â€"2012 74,527
FY 2012â€"2013 53,848
FY 2013â€"2014 21,129
FY 2014â€"2015 16,903
FY 2016-2017 7,591
FY 2017-2018 April - October 1,502
Awards
- 2010 Business Standard Motoring Indian car of the year
- 2010 Bloomberg UTV-Autocar car of the year
- 2010 Edison Awards, first place in the transportation category
- 2010 Good Design Awards, in the category of transportation
- 2014 India's Most Trusted hatchback car, according to The Brand Trust Report 2014 edition
In the media
- Small Wonder: The Making of Nanoâ€"a book about the creation of the Tata Nano
- A Megafactories episode on this vehicle
See also
- Tata Pixel
- Singur Tata Nano controversy
- City car
- Tata Ace
- Tata Magic Iris
- Bajaj RE60
References
External links
- Tata Nano â€" Official product page