Jan
12
At the New Delhi Pragati Maidan Auto Expo 2008, history was written. There came a car that is as promising as anything has ever been. The all new Tato Nano, a venture of Tata under it’s leader Mr. Ratan Tata, was finally shown off at the Expo. And not so surprisingly, the car has been welcomed by the people all across the world. Be it the common man, or the automobile industries’ most eminent names or the global media, this conceptual venture has been gladly talked about by everyone. Although it is too early to pass on a verdict on the whole deal as of now, because the car would be launched in the market no early than September 2008, I really want to have my say.
In the words of Barack Obama, and now, Mr. Ratan Tata himself, “They said this day would never come”. In an interview put up on the Tata Group’s official website and the Auto Expo PC, Mr. Ratan Tata has made a lot of promises. But I see no reason why I shouldn’t question the authenticity of his words. There are going to be many drawbacks with this vehicle. To begin with, there is no way the car’s price is going to settle at Rs. 100,000 (approximately 2600$). The price everyone’s talking about does not include the controversial VAT and Road taxes. And with the constant rise in the prices of raw materials used in the vehicle industry, there’s no telling what heights the price would get to by September 2008. It’ll be quite enough a challenge for Mr. Ratan Tata to stick to his promise and keep the price as he’s always talked about. In a country with a population of almost 1,200,000,000, how many can really afford a 1 lac rupee car? And once bought, how many can really keep up with maintenance and the rising prices of the fuel? A vehicle can never be a one time investment, people will regularly have to shake up their pockets no matter how hard they try to avoid it.
There’s been a word around at Mr. Ratan Tata’s press conference that the vehicle is environment friendly. Are you thinking what I am thinking? A car with a price tag of Rs. 100,000 is bound to sell like hot cakes at first because of the comparatively low price than the other vehicles available in the range (the Maruti Suzuki 800). Even a general auto-rickshaw that can be seen on almost anywhere in India has a price much more than that of the Tata Nano. So can we expect the Nano to exchange places with the auto-rickshaw and other smaller commercial public transport media? Yes, why not. And this is certainly not going to make things any merrier. Tata Nano will run on petrol and/or diesel. Anything that runs on petrol or diesel is bound to harass the environment. And the more the Nanos sell, things aren’t going to get any better. In a nut shell, a huge number of Tata Nanos with improper emission systems will prove very destructive.
Now, let’s take a look at the issue regarding safety norms. With the kind of roads here in India (which ensure tremendous wear and tear) & the driving mentality of the people here, and most importantly, the number of people here, no amount of detailing is good enough to make the vehicle safe enough. As far as personal opinions are concerned, I will have to say the design looks really weak to me. The tyres are comparatively small, the ground clearance is hardly 19 centimeters (not apt enough for Indians roads), and for a price tag of Rs. 100,000, what can we really expect out of the vehicle’s outer body and the safety equipment fit inside to make your driving sessions secure? Although the low top-speed levels, the engine at the back and the smaller tyres make the vehicle terribly slow, Tata could have done a lot better than this to ensure rugged safety norms.
For a price tag of 2600$, the car doesn’t have much features to offer. It’s like two scooters joined in the middle with a metal rooftop pulled over it. To summarize, the Tata Nano is over hyped. The common man will NOT buy it. They’d rather go for a Maruti Suzuki 800 or cars priced beyond that. May be they’ll just stick to the two-wheelers they’ve been using all these years. The only scope for this car selling is the commercial transport category. This is bound to take the place of the yellow-black or the yellow green auto-rickshaws you see on the streets. But then again, with the prices of non-renewable fuels going up and even beyond, I am not hopeful enough. Even if it sells well at first, we’re bound to see some terrible traffic jams, more air pollution, and people on the streets hurling abuses at each other for exchanging some paint.
My verdict on this car .. flop-mania’s coming!
PS: Is it just me or every one has forgotten the Apple iPod nano? Shouldn’t the Tatas be worried about a lawsuit coming there way?
Comments
13 Responses to “The Tata Nano Firstlook: The Pre-Release Verdict”
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The “people’s car” is a wonderful example of India’s mid-20st Century mindset and its squandered chance at 21st Century development. My short essay on this, India Going Nowhere Fast, can be read at http://memestreamblog.wordpress.com/2007/10/12/india-going-nowhere-fast/.
MBJ
Ha ha ha…great article. I agree with you on the same basis that you have pointed out on several occasions. The only thing we can say for now is, ‘only time will tell what will become of the Indian roads’, let alone the others, if Tata tries to export this.(They will i think)
And when one imagines that situation, its not going to be pretty, and the one who does imagine, will stop.
(Nightmares sometimes start happily)
My word. Majority of mainstream Indian media has gladly accepted and welcomed the idea of the Tata Nano priced at Rs. 1 lac, without considering what will really happen once the car hits the roads. Tata Automobiles have themselves accepted that there will be better versions of the Tata Nano by September that’ll have far more features and certainly a price beyond what everyone’s been talking about these days. As for now, all I can say is that this is certainly one of those nightmares you’re talking about
Your verdict is way too true. It is a good
concept that has come to fruition. You have
made good points to regards to maintenance and
being not so friendly to the environment. It’s
all for the benefit of the chairman’s pockets!
maybe the chairman thought the sole concern of
Indians is the price tag, maybe he wanted to
do something different before he gets his retirement,
retirement or maybe he just wanted to make a cheap car,
whatever the reason, buying a car for its low preice tag
is a foolish thing to do.
oh yeah, nice post
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lol .. i didn’t know anything about that .. and after reading your article i don’t think its going to be a success .. you’re right
i thoroughly disagree with you… you have no clue the Nano-mania that India is currently under in. For people outside India it is “a cheap car”, for us, Indians, it is “our cheap car”… this thing is going to sell by the millions… Also it has been designed for the rural market… so expect it to be rugged, durable, and easy to maintain… By the way there are diesel, hybrid, and electric versions in the fray… which might be more fuel efficient and consequently expensive… And don’t forget the bog-standard Nano is not the only one they are making… they possibly have a dozen or so variants in the fray… the best part… they will offer a lot of customisation options… it won’t be a FLOP!
I’m getting one… the deluxe variant, probably hybrid, in lunar silver…
The Nano-mania you’re talking about is one big disillusion most of the people are currently under. For Rs. 100,000 for a car, it’ll be very immature to expect quality. I know of the variants, but they would be priced way beyond the ‘dream price’. They customizations’ option you talk about will still drag the prices afar. You didn’t get the point of my post, did you? I did a pre-release verdict of the 1 lac model, not the pricey variations of the Nano that’ll come later on. And with the amount of details currently flying around about this 1 lac model, don’t tell me you expect much out of it.
the 1 lakh model is for the rural markets… and there are plenty of takers… the deluxe variant… personally i don’t think it would cost more than 1.85 lakhs (including VAT and delivery charges)… which is still cheaper than an Maruti 800 (with AC)… which costs upwards of 2.5 lakhs… and they are not following the regular distribution model… its a new setup by which they aim to eliminate one layer of costs… even at 1.85 lakhs the deluxe variant will find MANY takers… as far as customisation goes… and this has been made so as to be easy to repair and maintain…
Heyy!! Nice post. Man, I agree for a lakh people wouldn’t exactly get a merc, but I guess a car is a pretty big dream for quite a few. The price of fuel’s gonna strip ‘em bare but I people would still buy it. Simple. Then once everyone realizes that they’re driving (or not driving :P) a sub-standard car and that they were better off travelling in an auto or something, the nano would be on it’s way to car graveyard. Till then just sit back - the ball’s already started rolling…
as a matter of fact…I totally agree with this. Mindless capitalistic approach in place I see. And I DONT like what i see. A price tag of 100,000 for a car will indeed attract a HUGE population…people who were able to afford only a Scooter or a Bike, will shell out that extra bit to get this terrible excuse for a four wheeler. The fact that you get a CAR for 1 lakh is very attractive indeed…This will lead to a Massive number of TATA Nanos on the street which is not only an eye sore..but totally bizarre! Considering the condition of Indian Roads and narrow lanes being flooded with these abominations…scares me to the core…!
The folks at top gear ridiculed Nano in their 11th season’s first episode.They pronounced TATA as ‘tahtah’ and couldn’t believe that this is the company that bought Jaguar.
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Here’s a pic where they said that tata stole the design of nano from….wait for it…….Pikachu!
http://s349.photobucket.com/albums/q377/brutality13/?action=view¤t=asas.jpg
And now that i have seen the pic i have to agree