Team-BHP - Tata Nano-November Sales=506. Analysing the root cause and devising the solutions.

To be honest it was Tata who gave the media and naysayers a chance to have a dig at the Nano. There was a feeling that they took the sales for granted because they priced the car really low.

In a way its an excellent wake up call for them, to take the quality, sales, servicing and customers of the Nano seriously. The diesel, CVT variants as well as exports of the car still pending, Tata has only scraped the surface of the cars potential. Hopefully they have got their act together this time round.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 2194960)

Personally, I am EXTREMELY HAPPY to see a 10X increase in factory despatches. Remember, even if the 5,000 odd number is a wholesale, it's the same for every other manufacturer as well. And no dealer likes to stock on unnecessary inventory.

For the price, the Nano is truly one heck of a car. I think that Tata got the product spot-on, but their marketing department badly messed things up. They just counted on press publicity, completely ignoring the need for their own promotional activities (to the masses). I frequently drive my best friend's Nano and am always left impressed at the overall package.

The 506 sales number from November obviously woke the marketing boys up. Overnight, we saw 4 year warranties (believe me, warranties are very expensive to the manufacturer), 4 year service packages and free availability in newer locations. End of the day, things are even better for the Nano customer.

You're spot on about TATA Motors' lousy marketing strategy. And, if the company can figure a way to add power steering or improve the steering mechanism to make it lighter the car will be a real hit.

I'm happy to see that Nano sales have bounced back and i hope it gets better.

Bit offtopic, I am thinking negative now. I was excited when tata launched this new car with a promise of more space and safety. But now this is turning to be a nightmare, encountered many situations when tata nano drivers end up creating traffic problems on the road. Most irritating was today, when a nano driver squeezed his car in between an auto and an innova (i was sitting inside the auto) like he would have done on a motorcycle, and damaged three vehicles. No dents but the scratches are painful for the innova and the auto. And the best part is he was trying to defend his action !

Another one was driving on the wrong side near Inner ring road Sony world signal to avoid traffic and caused a major traffic jam. Guess he got tensed when he was being abused by the people, he even tried jumping on to the footpath !

My take on this situation now, since 1-2L is not a big amount these days, people might end up buying more nanos (forget the status and cheap car tag) and think they can do what they want (Driving rash, wrong side, scratches, dent) as their investment is very low and they don't care much if their nanos end up getting damaged. (like how some folks got old premier padmini's for 10K odd and drove at their will)

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunishsamuel (Post 2208265)

My dear friend,
You are accusing TATA for individuals making traffic offense, and the post show he did the mistake only because he owns a Nano.
for your second point you put the blame on Nano which is barely selling 5 K cars/month and you are ignoring the Alto, which sells ~30K cars/months. Now tell me from the past six months sales figures which car manufacture is contributing to the issue you mentioned in the second paragraph, TATA or Maruti?
TATA or

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunishsamuel (Post 2208265)

Sir, with all due respect, please read your own message and think, what has the poor Nano done? Is it not the fault of the driver or the upbrining or for that matter the the road sense of the person.

did not mean to single out nano, but nano adding to the chaos.

Completely agree that no manufacturer can be held responsible if they launch a good product and that being misused by the drivers, attribute that to poor road sense and upbringing.

Concern from me is, with small cars already selling numbers and creating chaos, another manufacturer trying to sell a small car adds up to the problem. But can tata do something to stop people being rash and senseless ? No. Its more of a social problem and i am not intending to single out or bash a section. I am somehow struggling to word it right,please: sorry

Sunishsamuel

It's not TATA's fault if an id@#$ buys it's nano and drives on the wrong side of the road.

Also for a person who can just about afford 1.5-2L and uses it to buy a nano, this is a major investment and that person will take care of the nano to avoid scratches and dents, more than someone who can afford more. In Mumbai all the nano drivers whom I have seen till date were driving the car reasonably well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunishsamuel (Post 2208265)

My take on this situation now, since 1-2L is not a big amount these days, people might end up buying more nanos (forget the status and cheap car tag) and think they can do what they want (Driving rash, wrong side, scratches, dent) as their investment is very low and they don't care much if their nanos end up getting damaged. (like how some folks got old premier padmini's for 10K odd and drove at their will)

You know what? My friend owns an BMW 7 Series and an Audi Q7. Just the other day he was saying that 8-10 L is not a big amount these days & all these people who buy sub 10 L cars think they can do what they want because their investment is very low and they don't care much if their cheap car gets damaged. He feels that these sub 10 L car owners are a menace on the roads.

I guess sunishsamuel just happened to word it wrongly. I can see his point. It is not about Nanos or Altos - just that he feels cheap car availability is going to add chaos drastically to the already chaotic roads/traffic scenario. Our roads are bursting at the seams unable to handle the existing traffic - which incidentally is not the manufacturers fault, but a governance issue. Add cheaper cars and this is going to hit hard. Today we see bikers getting on the pavement, tomorrow it would be car drivers.

But yeah, it also is about where you are in the foodchain. Maybe like we with our hatches/sedans think the Nano is a pain, the guys above us with their Audis and Mercs would think our cars are a pain. :-)

My resolve to leave the Metro and retire to the small town in Kerala gets intensified everytime I see the chaotic traffic. Just do some farming or small business that brings in enough for the daily bread (and fish) and I should be OK. Hopefully soon...

Quote:

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno (Post 2208928)

You got it absolutely right Supremo. We cannot blame increase in small cars for the chaos, its more of a governance issue. Every time I see a family with 2 kids sitting on a bike braving the elements, I realize the utility of a Nano. Whether people buy it or not is a different matter. But considering the success of VFM products like the Figo, I feel the Nano saga is here to stay.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fz_rider (Post 2208245)

Seems like Tata is trying to attract customers through existing customers ! Back to back articles , about the '' Nano owners '' in the local newspaper !

Existing customers are talking about Nano in vernacular newspapers too. At the same time. !!

Haven't you heard of advertisements in the guise of news? They were the norm of the day during recent elections in A.P. I think TATA's marketting guys are becoming rather oversmart.

Murthy

Quote:

Originally Posted by gavinimurthy (Post 2209482)

May be Nano marketing has been handed over to Nira Radia?