[romeomidhun]

They have to learn from Tiago's success - an entirely new car and no association compared to Indica.

For this pelican, as long as it uses the same old Nano body structure, the perception of the people may not change. This one will be considered as a 'Nano vista'. Nothing much to expect in terms of sales, imo.

[RavenAvi]

Fresh spyshots, courtesy Autospy @ TAI.

OP says:

Yesterday Spotted TATA Pelican, and had look inside the CAR...and surprised to see it was automatic veriant , could not take the photographs, because driver not allowed me. but 13 inch is confirmed. and looks fabulious, one more thing I observed is exhaust was not same as existing nano, so it might be really 3 cylinder Engine.

[Majumdarda]

2016 Diwali is here and there is no Pelican. But obvious a new launch is not expected by this year end, when the period is used to clear old stocks. Bolt will probably have some delicious offers by then. But when can we expect to have the Pelican hit the Indian Showroom then? Any insights?

By the way, have read that Nano is more of a sentimental project to the Tatas than anything else. In that case, will we ever have a Pelican [considering the turmoil within the Tata]?

[RavenAvi]

Looks like the Nano Pelican project has been put on indefinite hold, with the reason given as "lack of visibility on profitability".

In August, then under Mistry, the Tata Motors management agreed to slow down investment in the development of a new Nano and focus on a two-seat sports car, in addition to funding the development of the Hexa and Nexon SUVs and the Kite 5 sedan.

Three people that ET spoke to confirmed that there was no plan to undo Mistry's decision at least on the Nano's proposed new avatar. The sports car plan, too, is likely to get the go-ahead. "On all the product plans (under Mistry), Mr Tata was kept in the loop," one of the people said. A "final sign-off" on the product portfolio and investments will be taken soon, he added.

The 3-cylinder 1-litre new Nano — the project was called Pelican — was scheduled to be launched in 2016-2017. It has been put on hold due to lack of visibility on profitability, the people ET spoke to said. Continuing with the project would have meant spending a large amount of money, as it needed work to meet new crash and emission guidelines.

Also, the entry car segment in India is changing and many first-time car buyers are jumping to premium hatchbacks, which may have also made Tata Motors review the Nano concept, said an industry executive who was associated with the project.

ET Auto

[RavenAvi]

It's official - development costs and investments related to the Nano have been significantly written off, according to an official clarification by Tata Motors to the BSE.

The domestic auto giant will now shift it's focus to it's newly approved business strategy on the "growing and attractive segments (in terms of volumes and profitability)" of the Indian passenger vehicles market, aligning itself with "the changing and enhanced expectations of the consumers regarding content and features".

"... due to combination of several factors including project delays, due to change in location of the factory and the perception of being a low-priced car, the volumes initially anticipated did not materialise and utilisation of capacities are significantly lower," Tata Motors said in a clarification to BSE.

It further said: "In a highly-priced sensitive segment of the market, coupled with low volumes, it has been a loss-making product. As far as development cost and investments in Nano-specific dyes and toolings are concerned, these have been significantly written off in line with the accounting policies of over the last several years.

The company is committed to pursuing this refocused long-term strategy and future product decisions arising from the will be announced in the course of implementation of this approved strategy."

ET Auto

[srishiva]

Tata's goal of giving us a cheap car (thats not that cheap) may not be relevant any more. Just like cars that still look like Indica were not accepted by people, they might face the same issue with cars that look like Nano.

They need to refocus on providing a competitor to Alto or Kwid with quality thats closer to Tiago. They stick to something for very long when they need to be nimble and move quicker.

And with all the areas that they are in, why not have a joint venture for lithium ion (or any other type) batteries and start something on the electric drive-train front ? They have to move in that direction eventually and they need to gain as much experience as they can. M&M has years of experience in that field with Reva and Tata will again find themselves lagging when time comes.

[wrongturn]

IMHO Tata Nano is a beautiful car. The only thing that went wrong with it was the Tata's marketing strategy that earned it the name 'lakhtakiya' (worth a lakh) and that was the sole reason why this project drowned and I am sure this must have been said a million times on this thread already. Honestly it's quite sad to see the struggle of Nano, all the niggles and problems aside this car certainly deserved success.

Now whats done is done and nothing's going to change it.

I just hope that Tata would seriously market/ advertise Pelican as a funky and smart little car for city commute. Get the twin colors on it, slap in some good decals and make it look young. Call it Smart and not cheap while keeping it cheap, hack even get a hybrid or and an all electric version to start with.

[ashutoshb]

Finally, when it was to get the goodies it deserved, TAMO makes up the mind to choke the Nano to death.

I am surprised to read that when the TAMO board approved it and Ratan Tata was aware of what's going on, why do this now?

They should have given the Nano this final push.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Looks like the Nano Pelican project has been put on indefinite hold, with the reason given as "lack of visibility on profitability".

ET Auto

Sorry.

But, which the 2 seater sportcar said above?
2 door or 3 door wouls be fine, since it can be derived from existing models or platforms.

But a 2 seater? That's interesting.

[west]

I use Nano from 2009 till date, been punishing it ever since, I take it on no roads, drive to villages 400 km away. TIll date no sign of trouble, basic car can move in cities with ease and drive on high ways at 80kmph. Spent 40k on both maintenance and repairs, Has been in direct Sun and rains(no covered parking, but it remains the same. I AM ADDICTED TO NANOING.Have other cars but my first choice is Nano in city or for rough driving. Initially it is Image problem but now it's convenience, may be im becoming old but its just a part of me now.

[pugram]

Hope the board wars within the group doesn't kill Nano or its offsprings. In my opinion they should kit it out like the mainstream cars. I mean Disk brakes & one size wheels are the ones to be addressed similar to the openable boot. Tata motors has to understand that mileage alone is not the deciding factor, it is the overall experience that matters.
My cousin has a Nano and is using it extensively and with all sorts of loads. He did a 500km trip from Chennai. He just swears by his Nano.

[RavenAvi]

What next for the Nano Pelican? Will we see it in showrooms someday?

Although the team behind the Pelican iteration has been disbanded, the Nano project might be left alone to die it's own "natural" death.

And, if the Nano does garner some sales (and money) in the near future, we could see the 1.0L variant as a last hurrah to revive the Nano project. But, going by the recent sales records, it won't be happening anytime soon for sure.

Nano was at the bottom of the priority list, and the focus has moved to products such as Hexa SUV, Kite 5 sedan and Nexon SUV, according to five people who are familiar with the matter.

Finishing touches are also being given to a new generation 'Advanced Modular Platform', which enhances commonality of parts in modules, thereby improving economies of scale and faster production, they said. One director on the Tata Motors board said on condition of anonymity that the Nano will die a natural death.

The last marketable option that Tata Motors worked on vigorously under Mistry was the Nano Pelican, or a 1 litre version, which was planned for 2016-2017. The car was to sport a 1 litre 3 cylinder petrol engine, a new dashboard and a significant change in the exterior design, to make it beefy.

But the Tata Motors board decided to first go slow on the project and finally drop it because the directors felt the investment entailed was significant and more appropriate for bigger cars in the future, said another person familiar with the matter. The team for Nano Pelican has since been disbanded and the executives have been moved to various other projects in the passenger vehicle space.

ET Auto

[Nissan1180]

As a Nano owner, I feel sad to it die.
The concept had a lot of promise. I'm sure that the Tata design team also learnt a lot about packaging vehicle components well.
Think about it today: 7 years ago, a rear engined rear wheel driven 2 cylinder car that could seat 5 comfortably was launched. Yes, quality was an issue, but the concept was very radical for its time. Apart from the introduction of AMT, I don't think the industry has offered anything so different since then in India.
I wish the company would stop making indecisive statements about the Nano's fate in the media: nobody wants a car that's not going to be produced anymore. If you're going to kill it, do so and close the story. Instead, you're keeping its fate hanging and bringing in a lot more negative attention to your brand.
Personally, I would have bought a more powerful iteration of this car-again.
I also wonder why they couldn't launch the Europa-it did have a few different panels, but by and large, plastic claddings, nice wheels and a different set of lights would have made it irresistible. I thought the GenX would have those, but they continued with the same face, which people associated with cheapness.
Not many would mourn its death, but the Nano did play a very silent role in making frugal engineering more acceptable. Remember that when you see the three wheel nuts on the Kwid, the electronic meter on the Alto800, the fixed headrests across all A segment cars, the bluetooth system and the single wiper (first in its segment).

[RavenAvi]

Apart from the entry-level (A) segment shrinking over the years, another factor which has gone against Nano sales is the paying customer's willingness to move to a higher segment which is now within reach, thanks to higher salaries/business returns, easy loans and affordable EMI schemes.

From a strong 50,000+ sales numbers M-O-M back in 2011-2012 (August 2011 : Indian Car Sales & Analysis) to ~38,000 units in recent times (October 2016 : Indian Car Sales Figures & Analysis), the A-segment is on the decline while the B2 (premium hatch) and the C (sedan/crossover) segments have been on the rise.

Even the Utility segment, which has cars such as the Innova Crysta which is priced at Rs 15 lacs+, has humbled the A-segment sales in some recent months, which has cars that don't exceed Rs 4-4.5 lacs in price.

Also, the Nano suffers from poor aspirational value. Today, for a few thousand rupees more, the Renault Kwid is perceived as a much better proposition due to it's immense VFM product placing, SUV-ish stance, digital speedo + tablet HU, etc.

The difference = mere peanuts, if you think in EMI terms.

The paying customer will feel more pride in watching the Kwid stand in front of his house than the humble Nano, which still has that "cheap car" sticker attached to it.

Cars continue to be status symbols in the society. The previous-gen A-segment customer is now ready to get that B-segment hatch or even stretch his budgets for that C-segment sedan/crossover/pseudo-SUV because he can afford to. His choices in the A-segment are limited to but two - the Alto continues to reign because of the Maruti-Suzuki badge, and the Kwid because of it's novelty and unique value proposition.

Tata could have done some smart marketing to save the Nano -

1) marketed it as a second car for urban runabouts for those customers who already have a big, heavy highway cruiser in their garages (I know of many people who have a Nano paired to their Citys/Safaris/Corollas/XUV500s in their homes),
2) updated it with some more contemporary features much earlier, and
3) given it some essential upgrades when it needed the most (it should have come with a power steering much before 2015).

Also, the 1.0L Pelican should have been in the market at least a year earlier.

Between the Alto/Kwid and the higher segments, the Nano doesn't have much to attract the car buyer today. Shame really, because it's ultra-compact footprint and spacious seating made it the perfect little urban car.

If only Tata had realised and cashed in on the potential of the Nano to it's full.