[anilisanil]

I think it is the way they marketed it. It caught all the buzz it did only because it was a 1l car but its on road price is at least 50% more than what is quoted. But I see great prospects for nano as a fleet vehicle.

[raghav.carfreak]

Being a student, I'm not sure why exactly the nano has failed, due to marketing or engineering, It probably had a few technical issues which led to the fires in the first place, which i hope to believe have been sorted out. Besides that, I strongly believe its an engineering marvel, To produce a full fledged car at the price of an auto is no easy task! complete respect to the entire team of TATA motors! Having said that, I'm not sure what can be done on the marketing front to change the nano's image, But the one thing that i am sure of is, give it a maximum of two years, with the Bajaj Small car coming in(by that i mean increased competition helps improve your own product), newer technology like the Indica EV helping resources, and the combination of a diesel nano, a hybrid nano, or even a nano EV coupled with features of nano europa(the left side mirror being the first addition) would give the competition a run for its money!
Once these features/combinations of alternate fuels are added, and the image of it being a lakh rupee car is removed, I see no reason for it not to give strong competition to the likes of alto, besides difference in A*S*S!
Because TATA has been a company that does learn from its mistakes, its come a long way from the first gen Indica to the present day vista, and it provides features like airbags and ABS which usually isn't provided as a priority by competition(read maruti).
Their constant want to improve will definitely help improve their situation unlike MSIL who is resting on their laurels with older products with no sign of improvement in their rattles!
I'm not a tata lover or a maruti hater, In fact, there have been maruti cars in the past in my house, and no tata, and I've heard enough stories about their bad A*S*S on the forum, But I completely respect TATA motors for what they are today and wish them all the success in the future
Cheers

[Mangusta]

A major reason for the numbers not picking up is inadequate service network of the Tata Motors. People's car should have had a network wider than Maruti - perhaps like that of a motorcycle manufacturer. After all wasn't it aimed at the motorcycle fellow with kids. BTW, the Honda Brio is being planned through their MC dealerships.

[zaks]

Yeah, yeah many saw this coming. So much for the "car for the masses", as I and many said here before - it's a marvel of engg for producing a vehicle for 4 at that price but a car as in a "car" for owning, not by a big margin. That's why I asked in the nano thread whether Mr.Ratan Tata had lost the business acumen.

If they can still leverage it and make a decent electric version of it with price band of < 2.5lakhs, then with some more safety features it could take off.

[SalsaCorp]

What I see is the failure of TATA`s in bringing the car to the people.

I have gone through the ad in paper stating 2.5 k emi and 25k down payment and rushed to the nearest dealer to book one. But once you reach the dealer its a different story - they say its only for the base model and that too if you go with a nationalized bank and wait for ages to get the loan sanctioned !!!!!

What is TATA CAPITAL doing? Are`nt TATA`s serious about bringing in their financing arm to gather in pushing the sales of NANO. But why the TATA dealers never even refer TATA capital when you approach them for a loan.

Have anybody seen the TATA CAPITAL web page, I had given my details and the sales person contacted me after 10 days
Isnt that startling the representative getting in touch with you after 10 days!! who the hell will wait for in these busy and fast moving days

[siddheshb]

Originally Posted by sidindica

So, what we need to discuss is the following points:

• What led to this overall decline? Any one of the 4-5 causes that I have tried to analyze or something else?
• What we want to do is to identify the root cause of the problem.
• What as the exact cause of the problem?
• What can be our observations; and
• possible solutions that can be emerged from this situational analysis that I have put forward.
• How much good will a diesel nano do to get the car back on track?

Sid, very well written opening piece - just the perfect eye opener on a very interesting topic!

My first impression of the Nano was - hope this doesn't go the way of the Hero Honda Street (wasn't that the name of the scooter-mobike crossover that also failed miserably?)! Sometimes, when someone breaks into a completely new market, you might want to ask yourself - why isn't this market already occupied? Maybe there is a reason!

The problems, as I see it with the Nano, were multiple:

1) Over-hype, leading to over booking, but inability to deliver on time - if you are not geared up to grab the opportunity, people will quickly move on. As you said, most people became stars with their Nanos, but the novelty factor washes off pretty quickly.

2) 1.5 lakh on road is still a lot of money for a car, and for people shelling out that much, maybe a second hand Maruti was a much more reliable option!

3) Safety concerns and bad press - multiple instances of cars catching fire is scary!

4) Cars need parking space (unlike a bike, you can't park it in your verendah!), petrol is expensive, and it can't double up as a goods carrier!

Some possible solutions:

1) Target the youth - for the Indian middle class, make it the option of choice for the daughter going to college, a much safer option compared to a two wheeler

2) Target it as replacement for autos/taxis

3) Offer it on a hire basis - Tatas continue to own and maintain the vehicles, but rent it out by the month

Originally Posted by srinivasmhn

Just checked the on road price of nano in Bangalore.
Base model costs - 1.79L
Top end model costs - 2.29 L

Get a second hand Alto, for years of peace, reliable service and VFM!

[NYMEX]

The main reasons why the nano has not done well are as follows:
1. the marketing gimmick of being a Rs. 100,000 car to attract eye balls, was not appreciated by the customers
2. the over all drive experience of nano feels that it is built to a Rs.80,000 budget ( I have driven it often)
3. The pricing is too close to a new alto's without the VFM proposition and too high above a 3 year old alto/M 800.
4. The safety issues have become a disincentive to buy

The complete brand strategy has to be rethought and some engineering needs to go into it. It may well serve it's case if a high end variant is offered with substantial performance and interior improvements.

It may also be a good idea to relaunch it with different exterior appearance and re positioned as an economical rather than cheap transportation.

[BusyBoyKK]

Originally Posted by amit_mechengg

being a low priced car people always had a fear whether its a safe car or not and voila the great indian " Be- lagam" media pounced on nano as if they themselves were burnt alive in nano.

Originally Posted by kochicar

Do I recommend Nano to others?
Only if they own any other car.

Originally Posted by srinivasmhn

It is not way cheaper anymore.

Originally Posted by gavinimurthy

Looks like people are prefering a second hand 2/3 years old Alto/Santro type cars which are available in the price range of a brand new Nano. They prefer the peace of mind that comes with these cars for the same price.

Originally Posted by sunishsamuel

type improves his image and prospects of marriage compared to a nano.
- At the same time he also says that a bank is ready to advance his car purchase and he can think of a maruti 800 not a nano.

Originally Posted by siddheshb

Get a second hand Alto, for years of peace, reliable service and VFM!

I think we have found the answers.
Why would someone buy a car?
When we planned to change our car, circa the launch time of Nano, my Mom said why not the Nano. My Mom's logic was simple - it's small, convenient, easy to use in city traffic and looks cute and not expensive-so no worries even if it develops dents or scratches. My Father and I were apprehensive and opted out, we did not even test drive the vehicle. My Mom was even ready to learn driving if we buy Nano. We wanted peace of mind. We weren't sure what problems the "cheap" car would have.
Agree that it's an engineering marvel with the Indian frugalism opulent in it. But still even a small family which can afford only 1 lakh to buy a brand new car will want a safe and reliable car.
My house-hold servant maid wanted to buy the Nano, but then she gave me this comment when I enquired about the plan - "it seems the car is just like an auto, even worse at times, the rear seat heats up very often".
See, Nano was not able to prove it's reliability with the intended audience and even with the unintended audience.
What TATA should do:
- Handle your PR well to keep Press under control.
- Launch a newer version Nano+ with few facial design changes (if necessary). Give some publicity that TATA has learnt something fron JLR and spruced up Nano. I think it works. And also with all that - open the boot, fix the engine noise, fix the problems etc options.
- Utilise the Nano fantasy Add a full branding campaign (I do not remember watching any Nano TV ads).
- Easy booking and financing options

Remember Nano cleared from crash tests in EU, it is not as bad as we thought (the crazy guesses before the launch that it would have curtains instead of doors and windows, it will have 3 wheels etc), out of the few lakh cars sold, only 5 or so cars caught fire, I still see some good number of Nanos (mostly top-end) on road and some happy customers (satisfied with what they get for what they paid).

The Nano sales figures that we see now, I think, are also caused by some negative competition playing around with external factors (media publicity etc). Boeing playing around with the A380 delays and problems, Airbus playing around with Dreamliner's delays and problems. It happens in markets.

I think TATA would already have some plans and very soon we will see an improvement in the overall situation.

[kkg]

I own a nano for last eight months or so and its past 7000kms on the odo. For me and for for all who have driven my Vikram, there are only following grouses:

1. The clutch is really hard. Its a pain to drive in traffic. Whenever i see some lady or a old man driving a nano, i silently feel sorry for their feet and fore arms ( no PS,remember)

2. The ride quality is very harsh, every one inside the Nano keeps on jumping. My father sat with me in the Nano only once and we attended a wedding on the NH 1. When we returned he said " mere to asthi pinjar hila diyee.." ( you have shaken my internal bones and all")

3. The sound of the engine is horrible, like and auto, very embarassing.

Although i have many other compliants but these are the main things that would deter any first time buyer to buy one.But again,even with all these issues 506 in a month is unimaginable . Something else has to be behind this.

[zulfi hansi]

First 506!!, I still cant see how.

But this is a classic case of everything right on paper, and everything wrong (even the ones which were not suppossed to go wrong) in reality.

This was one car which had the biggest nish, but ended up without one now.

Really, actually everything when wrong. This is one car which needs makeover bigtime and the fastest one at that. I have read one of the best thoughtout replies on this tread, and I agree with almost everyone here, I would not reapeat all not because it would be reapeating, but its just too many problems that this car has.

1. The product is flawed, really needs a lot of work to be done.
(though its one of the most practical car at as is given stage). But India has moved on. We need better and more modern cars, due to various reasons, and just practicality will not work here.

2. Marketing now is like the maketing team is singing to a rock, I am clueless myself.

All I can think is that this car has the potential of becoming the best ELECTRIC car for the city ever made. Think about it.

[mrkanitkar]

1. Price was never 1 Lac on road, hype was of 1 Lac.
2. Auto rikshaw type engine and noise.
3. over hype, raising expectations as quality of car is almost same as Maruti or any international brand, which is just not true.
4. Zero quality assurance in factory
5. Driving comfort is just missing.
6. on road fire issues.

My friend says, he will have nano of 1.5 Lac and it may take away his parents or family (wife, children) because of catching fire on road. People are just scared because of fire issues. TATA, Govt. nobody came with any reasoning around it.

Solution:
1. I think QA head in factory should be fired for all fire issues.
2. TATA should add few safety features and launch campaign among current customers that they own safe NANO. Install some free safety instruments in all nanos on road.
3. Quality of plastics, metal should improve.
4. CNG option is must.
5. Auto transmission will solve clutch issue.
6. PS is must in all models.
7. Work aggressively with suppliers on costing.
8. Reduce price again
9. USE JLR experience in improving quality, safety. (send car to UK for V2 version).
I am sure car will have success. There is huge commitment, market. No reason to fail in real time. I am sure Ratan TATA will make it. (btw, I am TATA share holder too) TATA Motors stock is doing new high even if nano news is bad, some good news must be on the way..

[rajeev k]

If instead of 1L the moderately loaded variant is priced at 1.3 to 1.35L then sales will skyrocket.
There are reports that TATA motors is on overdrive to increase sales. Let us watch and see.
Probably this downslide in Nano sales would result in the emergence of another small car soon probably in the 2.5L zone.

[sudev]

Oct+Nov should be looked as a block due to buying peak of Navratra's etc. Still the slide is huge. So now what?

[greenhorn]

hey, I bet the folks at tata have been through this before with the indica. All it needs is a V2. some fixes and improvements (LHS ORVM for starters) and a half decent ad campaign(nor sure if a celebrity will help.Tata cars tend to appeal to the head and not to the heart) to get the ball rolling again

[TheARUN]

I think the only reason the NANO is selling so less is becaus it is not a 1 lakh car.

The standard NANO costs 1,63,000 on-road Bangalore
The NANO CX with AC costs 2,03,000 on-road Bangalore
The NANO LX costs 2,27,000 on-road Bangalore

The plot was lost the minute they failed to sell the car at 1,00,000