JackYan.com
Jack and Aston Martin V8 Vantage Monaco street signs
Jack Yan: the Persuader blog
  Click here to go to home pageWhat I stand forMy stuffWhat others have recently saidMeet some of the coolest folks I knowDrop me a line Visit my workplace
> My stuff > The Persuader Blog


10.1.08

Tata Nano—the Rs. 1 lakh car revealed 

Tata Nano standard

[Cross-posted] I would say that the new Tata Nano, the Rs. 1 lakh ($2,500) car revealed by Motors at the New Delhi Auto Expo a few hours ago, exceeds the expectations of those who were predicting something that looked more motorcycle than .
   As we led up to today’s unveiling of the revolutionary small —aimed to get families out from motorcyles and in to a safer automobile—I had heard all manner of predictions, many of them negative, about the vehicle.
   Yet Tata has come up with a “people’s car” designed to mobilize the masses in India in the same vein as the Volkswagen, Fiat nuova 500 and the BMC Mini.
   It possesses a certain chic with a contemporary one-box that could have come from an Italian design house. While the won’t make it to too many western export markets due to the perceived lack of safety features, it will start a new trend among cheap transportation, especially in an era of high oil prices. I don’t think it’ll take too long for the Red Chinese to copy it and I speculate that Tata may well plan on creating a slightly plusher, airbag-standard version for export.
   However, as far as Tata is concerned, the Nano meets the requirements of its main market and is safe.
   The car is available in standard and deluxe models. The most noticeable feature of the latter is its colour-keyed bumpers and wheel trims.
   Said chairman , ‘I observed families riding on two-wheelers—the father driving the scooter, his young kid standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him holding a little baby. It led me to wonder whether one could conceive of a safe, affordable, all-weather form of for such a family. Tata Motors’ engineers and designers gave their all for about four years to realize this goal. Today, we indeed have a , which is affordable and yet built to meet safety requirements and emission norms, to be fuel-efficient and low on emissions. We are happy to present the People’s Car to and we hope it brings the joy, pride and utility of owning a car to many families who need .’
   What I would really love to see is a version not powered by fossil fuels—a wish I have had for the car since 2006.
   From a branding perspective, the car represents just how well organized Tata is. The Nano was the chairman’s baby, pushed through by a charismatic leader and its importance stressed by top management. It could well build Indian industry even more than the multi-billion-dollar Tata corporation can imagine. This, and its acquisition of Land Rover and Jaguar, may make Tata the most talked-about Asian automaker in 2008.
   Plus, I love the name. Just as Mini was about as small as people could get in everyday speech in the 1950s, Nano is such a common term in the 2000s that the model name makes perfect sense.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

Comments:
Thank you Jack. I'm amazed how farsighted Mr. Ratan Tata was when in 2002 - five years back - he announced that he would make such a car and there would be a market for it, and yes, how he kept his words. Five years back perhaps no one took Mr. Tata seriously and I must say that I too was among the skeptic. When the time [of unveiling the car] drew close perhaps everyone [including me] were concerned for the credibility of the car in terms of its emission and safety standards. Many were even concerned [but not me] that how much, just how much carbon and congestion this mass-produced car would add to the already polluted atmosphere and the packed Indian roads. Some even raised issues that what we needed was not a new small car but improved infrastructure for cheap and fast public transportation. Now Mr. Tata has taken care of the emission and safety issues but for the remaining ?... I guess we - the Indian public - have to take care of the remaining issues. There's a huge market for the smoke belching, second hand, reconditioned and non-descript old cars [and three wheelers] in India. Please say NO to them and plunk for a new and revolutionary concept like the TATA Nano if you're truly concerned about the ever-increasing carbon levels in the air and choked Indian roads. And as far the infrastructure is concerned, I guess it's no way the responsibility of a business corporation... we have our government to take care of that.  
This is a great idea for a product to fill a global need. It's not revolutionary, just extremely simple and it takes advantage of India's low production costs.

Such a car is much better for safety than families of 4 riding on a motorcycle, but the culture of safety just isn't there in India. Seatbelts and helmets are largely ignored. Airbags are not required. Luckily, road speeds are much lower than many other parts of the world. I just returned from a trip to India.

More cars may mean more traffic congestion issues, but I think they will help a bit with the traffic craziness caused by motorcycles and scooters squeezing in wherever they can.  
Zero to 60 MPH in 6 nano-seconds? LOL. What a great design!  
It indeed is a revolutionary car considering the constraints the project had.It has baffled western as well as Japanese car makers and evoked a grudging admiration from them.  
I was wondering if da selling price is Rs 1 lakh what would its production cost be? Afterall Tata Motors too need some profit on sellin it.. curious ;)  
Post a Comment

Links to this post:

Create a Link

 

 

Note

Entries from 2006 to the end of 2009 were done on the Blogger service. As of January 1, 2010, this blog has shifted to a Wordpress installation, with the latest posts here.
   With Blogger ceasing to support FTP publishing on May 1, I have decided to turn these older pages in to an archive, so you will no longer be able to enter comments. However, you can comment on entries posted after January 1, 2010.


Quick links

Surf to the online edition of Lucire
  • More ramblings at the Lucire Insider blog
  • The Medinge Group
  • Jack Yan for Mayor
  • My Facebook page
  • Follow me on Twitter
  • My Vkontakte page
  • Book me for public speaking
  • Contact JY&A Consulting on business projects
  • Check out fonts from JY&A Fonts
  • Add feeds




    Add feed to Bloglines

    Individual JY&A and Medinge Group blogs

  • Lucire: Insider
  • Summer Rayne Oakes
  • The Medinge Group press room
  • Detective Marketing
  • Amanda van Kuppevelt
  • Delineate Brandhouse
  • Paolo Vanossi
  • Nigel Dunn
  • Pameladevi Govinda
  • Endless Road
  • Avidiva news
  • Johnnie Moore’s Weblog
  • Steal This Brand Too
  • The Beyond Branding Blog
  • Ton’s Interdependent Thoughts
  • Partum Intelligendo
  • Right Side up
  • Headshift
  • Goiaba Brazilian Music
  • Jack Yan on Tumblr (brief addenda)

  • +

    Previous posts

  • Best quote on the new Xerox logo
  • Signs that GM appreciates branding
  • Whole Foods Market puts customers first, gives away...
  • Eight things that you did not know about me
  • Free Fouad!
  • The Indian luxury brand: Jaguar, Land Rover the va...
  • International think-tank announces 2008 Brands wit...
  • Don’t Vote Labour site targeted, despite free spee...
  • Nine years, and it’s still not fixed
  • Gavin Newsom proposes to Jennifer Siebel


  • Donate

    If you wish to help with my hosting costs, please feel free to donate.