Tata Motors to rebrand the Nano as a "smart city car"

After numerous refreshes and price cuts, the Tata Nano is yet to find traction at the hustings. This has prompted Tata Motors to go in for an all new strategy to sell the car. From being the world's least priced car seeking to put India on four wheels, the Tata Nano will now see a major re-branding that could take the car higher up the value chain. The re-branding exercise will see the Nano being pitched at the youth, as a "smart city car". 

To make the car more appealing to this car buyer demography, who value convenience, style and fuel efficiency, Tata Motors plans to add more features to the Nano. The power steering, a long missing feature that buyers have been demanding, is likely to make the cut during the revamp. Mr Cyrus Mistry, the Chairman of Tata Motors,  made a mention of this to share holders during the company's 68th annual general meeting. The other feature to be added to the revamped Nano is the open-able hatch lid. 

In fact, test mules of the diesel powered Nano have clearly showcased the presence of a conventional hatch lid on the car. The Nano, in diesel guise, also gets new front and rear bumpers, and a re-routed exhaust. The car will be powered by a 800cc turbo diesel engine that is expected to output about 40 Bhp. The big selling point of the Tata Nano Diesel will be its fuel efficiency, touted to be well north of 35 Kmpl. The revamped Nano will get styling upgrades on the outside, to make it look more appealing. 

Tata Motors will also launch the much-delayed CNG variant of the hatchback. After being showcased at the 2012 Indian Auto Expo, the CNG powered Nano, dubbed the E-MAX, was unveiled earlier this year, during Tata Motors Horizonext strategy showcase. The CNG powered Nano will offer diesel-like running costs at a price that's marginally higher than that of a petrol powered Nano. The Nano CNG is expected to be launched within the next couple of months.