[GrammarNazi]

Originally Posted by sadsack

Tata selling the Nano as a taxi ...The taxi seems to be hara kiri. As a Nano owner, I am very, very disappointed at this turn of events.

Thanks! Overlooked that POV.

( P.S. : Whats 'Hara-Kiri' ? Hasty? :P )

I say they should burn the midnight oil and come out with a Nano AMT with PS & openable hatch ASAP. If they manage this at 3 - 3.5L for the top end, it'd be an excellent crowd puller IMO. Even without an open-able hatch, I don't think many would say NO to a 3L AMT that can give upto 25kmpl!

Originally Posted by zenren

Agree that this is going to be much better and safer than the auto-rickshaws. However, the fare model puts it as an alternative to Indica cabs and not as a replacement for the auto-rickshaws. That's where people get the feeling of being literally taken for a ride
...
With something that is less comfortable than the Indica, and without a proper boot, the fare-pricing should have been set accordingly: Something like a minimum of 50 for 4 km and Rs. 10 per km after that. If that fare cannot achieve enough break-even levels, it is not worthwhile to be in the taxi segment. Why should a customer pay the rates for an Indica and travel in a Nano?

Could be.

But I felt its not completely unacceptable since Auto fare being ~13/km in Bangalore, many would prefer a Nano at 14.5/km over an Auto if its > 5kms.

Especially if it came through formats like Taxi-For-Sure provides where currently Call-taxi's like Indica demand 200 for the first 10kms, then on its 13/km (Non-A/c) & 14/km (with A/c) ).

Anyway, lets see.

P.S. : Maybe they'll open up to self-drive registrations too, where seriously attractive prices could be set up (especially by companies that want to promote car-renting). Hmm various possibilities & plethora of opportunities.

[sadsack]

This is a Facebook by made by a very famous brand guru of India, Mahesh Murthy. He was responsible for setting up of the original Channel V in India and also some of the ads on the Old MTV while it was a part of the Star TV network.

Mahesh Murthy
11 hrs · Edited ·
Today I drove a Tata Nano over 150km on a range of good and bad roads. I believe this is a great product killed by dumb positioning, advertising and marketing. In fact I believe if they'd just delivered the cars to the dealers and done absolutely no advertising, it would have sold a hundred times more.
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Upender Apparasu, Ravinder Rao Kondapalli, Sneha Mehta and 590 others like this.
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Jasveer Singh Great engineers always marry bad marketers.
7 hrs · Like · 3

Partha Sinha brand positioning was a big mistake for this product, on top of they add the car for Poor segment ...... big hell mistake. indian market run by emotion not numbers ... fools
6 hrs · Like · 2

Abhishek Rai Mr. Modi used your 'mileage of Mangalyaan' joke with Ahmedabad.
6 hrs · Like

Rajendra Chourse I endorse this opinion of MM
4 hrs · Edited · Like

A. V. Satish Chandra My wife has a Nano for many years now. Never given any trouble. Tata not only did not advertise it properly they also did not do anything to combat the negative publicity given to the car. Its a car that India should be proud of.
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[honeybee]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

( P.S. : Whats 'Hara-Kiri' ? Hasty? :P )

Do or die, in one word. Oops, in three words.

[sadsack]

( P.S. : Whats 'Hara-Kiri' ? Hasty? :P )

Sorry friend Grammar Nazi, I didn't realise that I had not replied to your question. The word is of Japanese origin where is was also called Seppuku. It stood for a ceremonial suicide by disemboweling oneself after they had been disgraced or censured in society for what was considered a wrong. This was done mainly by disgraced or failed samurai and women whose purity was questioned or were raped or going to be raped. This was a wide practice during the time of the Tokugawa Shoguns.

In the modern context, the Japanese have started using the expression by divesting it of the content of honour and now use it for suicidal actions but the English speaking world simply uses it as an idiom that is synonymous with self-destruction without any reason usually. It is like Juggernaut, which in English is an unstoppable movement of anything and it is derived out of Jagannath, because in Puri, once the chariot of Jagannath (Lord Krishna the ruler of the world) is set in motion, it is not stopped since that is considered inauspicious. Hope I have given you a satisfactory answer. Apologies again for being so late.

[humyum]

Tata Nano, I think will never sell in vast numbers. The marketing blunder when launched is too big a blunder to make good. Now every Indian views it as a 'cheap' car. Sentiments run this country too, a large part of a product is sentiments and then the actual product itself.

Secondly, Tata has a bunch of people who are not willing to change the mindset running the show. How do I know ? Well, I had been for an interview with their R & D head and lot of other people present in Pune who manage the passenger car division. They all liked my innovative concepts, said the interview went A + but the HR who was a young guy of age told me 'If you are looking for innovation, you are in the wrong place' and that I should look for some other company which encourages innovation. Here, nothing will work for you.

Obviously I did not get the job as HR's in our country are just CV scanners, less experience = u can't be smart. Period. However good the interview goes, experience or a campus in India is what matters, baaki the actual interview is irrelevant. Slowly I am beginning to realize why are other countries where the are and why is this country where it is.

[RavenAvi]

Motorbeam reports that Tata Motors is all set to launch an all-new Nano Twist variant, called the XE. The XE is a potential replacement of the earlier CX variant, with the EPAS power-steering unit, and will be the new base variant of the Tata Nano.

Also, the older LX & CX variants are set to be axed. Thus, the non-power steering variants of the Nano will be completely discontinued.

The Nano will be available in 3 trims from December 2014 onwards - the Twist XE, the Twist XT & the E-Max XM (CNG version). Other changes include a new instrument cluster with Driver Infotainment System and a bigger steering wheel.

SOURCE - Motorbeam

[zenren]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Motorbeam reports that Tata Motors is all set to launch an all-new Nano Twist variant, called the XE. The XE is a potential replacement of the earlier CX variant, with the EPAS power-steering unit, and will be the new base variant of the Tata Nano.

Also, the older LX & CX variants are set to be axed. Thus, the non-power steering variants of the Nano will be completely discontinued.

The Nano will be available in 3 trims from December 2014 onwards - the Twist XE, the Twist XT & the E-Max XM (CNG version). Other changes include a new instrument cluster with Driver Infotainment System and a bigger steering wheel.

So the 1 lakh rupee car will officially have a minimum ex-showroom tag of over 2 lakhs with this move. Price has increased but perception about the car hasn't. That is going to prove costly to Tata.

While they were at it, they could have waited for a few months to introduce the new XE variant and pricing the XT a little higher to ensure they overcut the Alto800 base variant. This was a wonderful opportunity for them to say they were no longer the cheapest car in India - it is a Maruti without basic things like AC and power steering. That could have helped in their re-branding, especially at a time when Maruti is under heavy criticism for cost cutting and compromises in Indian cars.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by zenren

While they were at it, they could have waited for a few months to introduce the new XE variant and pricing the XT a little higher to ensure they overcut the Alto800 base variant. This was a wonderful opportunity for them to say they were no longer the cheapest car in India - it is a Maruti without basic things like AC and power steering.

They couldn't do the over/undercut to the Alto even with the indica. Do you think it was possible with a 2cyl 600cc engine that sounds like a grass trimmer?

[amtak]

I am assuming that this is stock clearance for all the existing models + XT models. Somewhere by March/April 2015, we would have the new nano twist with openable rear hatch.

[sai_ace]

Where are those front disc brakes?!! :|

[zenren]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

They couldn't do the over/undercut to the Alto even with the indica. Do you think it was possible with a 2cyl 600cc engine that sounds like a grass trimmer?

Nano XT - 2.33 lakhs
Alto 800 Std - 2.37 lakhs

People in India don't buy a car for utility aspect - that is secondary. Primary goal is the elevated status in the society.

One of the biggest reasons a first time buyer chooses Alto instead of Nano is the perception about Nano being a "cheap" car or even a pseudo-car. As long as Nano remains the cheapest car available in India, it is impossible for Tata to get out of that image. Currently, people consider Alto/Eon as a segment higher than Nano while the fact is that both are actually A-segment cars though at either ends of the segment. So a difference of 30k for a perceived higher segment is too lucrative for a first time buyer to pass up and they end up discarding Nano.

If they are discontinuing CX/LX anyway and do not introduce XE, the cheapest Nano (XT) and the cheapest Alto are only 4k apart. At this point, a clever advertising can actually elevate Nano to the same segment as Alto 800 in the eyes of the common man. Once they establish Nano as a direct competitor to Alto 800, Maruti and Hyundai would help them elevate Nano indirectly to the level of Eon by means of the Alto-Eon comparisons.

The Std non-AC, non-PS variant of Alto is only there to attract the prospective customers to the showrooms with that starting price. Once they get the potential customers, they would cleverly convince how they can get AC and power steering for an additional EMI of around 500 each. So these customers end up paying much higher than their original plan.

Once this goal is achieved, they can introduce XE variant and become the cheapest car again, but without publicity that they are the cheapest car in India. Instead they can highlight the features that they provide as standard in their cars like AC and PS which is not the case with competition.

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by humyum

the HR who was a young guy of age told me 'If you are looking for innovation, you are in the wrong place' and that I should look for some other company which encourages innovation. Here, nothing will work for you.

. However good the interview goes, experience or a campus in India is what matters, baaki the actual interview is irrelevant. Slowly I am beginning to realize why are other countries where the are and why is this country where it is.

Setting the company aside for a moment, I am really surprised at the behavior of the HR guy. And it is precisely people like these who stifle innovation. No matter how bad the company atmosphere, I think he did a disservice to his company and he failed to do his job.

Secondly, it is not only India but a number of countries where such a criteria for recruitment exists. Investment banking and consulting industry in US straight away come to mind.

[humyum]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

Setting the company aside for a moment, I am really surprised at the behavior of the HR guy. And it is precisely people like these who stifle innovation. No matter how bad the company atmosphere, I think he did a disservice to his company and he failed to do his job.

Secondly, it is not only India but a number of countries where such a criteria for recruitment exists. Investment banking and consulting industry in US straight away come to mind.

You know, in India, the functional interview gets a good review only if the people who are interviewing you do not feel threatened that you might take their place or you might be more knowledgeable than them. If you are really good and passionate about the field you are giving an interview with, rest assure you will never get a job. Which almost a fresher comes to an interview with some technologies never discovered before in hand and still gets put on hold ? That is because everyone in the company is looking at their self interests first and thinking about the company later. Nothing in the company is a team work, its all about who gets the credit or benefit. This is from personal experience and a long one at this. I am tired of how this country works and I want to apply for a PR as soon as I get a chance and get out. Would u blame me for that ? Modi can say 'Make in India' or whatever, but on the ground if people only want to 'make their mind' with selfishness, India will remain the same.

Yes there are criteria's, but everyone starts from somewhere right ? Who gives them that start ? And when the interviews are all going well, why not hire and start ? Atleast you will get a fresh point of view in your company.

[safari_lover]

While the idea of bringing in the new XE variant and phasing out the old variants seems nice, I am afraid it may not add much to Nano numbers. It desperately needs the following to be brought in to the reckoning.

- A quieter engine
- A hatch at the back
- Disc brakes

[RavenAvi]

Cyrus Mistry, Chairman of Tata Sons, has given an ultimatum to Tata Motors regarding the Tata Nano that if it doesn't pick up it's numbers in monthly sales by 2017, the Nano project stands to be shelved.

As per sources, Cyrus Mistry, Chairman of Tata Sons, has already given an ultimatum to Tata Motors in this regard.

Mistry has warned that he may be forced to shut down the project if sales do not revive in the next two years, sources said.

Over the years, Tata Nano has seen poor demand and a resultant pile-up in inventory that is evident at the plant, which is filled with unsold cars. In FY14, only 21,129 units of the Nano were sold.

Meanwhile, Tata Motors has commented, "Nano remains an important part of our product portfolio. We do not have any comments on future product plans".

The production of the car in FY14 was the lowest at 21,538 units which is not even 10 percent of Sanand's annual capacity of 2,50,000 units.

The plant is currently operating at just 5-10 percent of its annual capacity. The company has been producing 2000 to 2400 cars every month.

The company has inventory of at least 8,000 to 10,000 units including those cars that were made in 2013 but yet to be sold.

SOURCE - Zee News