Tata Nano moving towards Discontinuation

TATA NANO

TATA GENX NANO

After successfully launching the Tata Ace truck in 2005, Tata Motors began the development of an affordable car that would appeal to the many Indians who ride motorcycles. The ‘Tata Nano’ being the dream Project of Mr. Ratan Tata, the engineers made every effort to keep the price to the minimum. Most of the non-essential features were dispensed to achieve the purchase Price to Rs. 1 Lakh. Even the media gave much hype calling it ‘World’s Cheapest Car’ when it was launched in 2008. But the prices had to be changed upwardly in the following years owing to surge in production cost.

But the car is performing poorly in monthly sales. In its 8-year run, the car has had many ups and downs, albeit the company stood by its product. However, it seems like Nano has embarked on its final journey in India. Reports in media are rife that Tata Motors will ostensibly stop investing in Nano. The decision has been taken by the management, as despite numerous efforts the model has not been able to show improvement in terms of sales. Even if company somehow continues selling it in India, the car will have to clear the mandatory crash-test that starts from 2019. This indicates new investment to abide by the safety norms.

In 2015, GenX Nano was launched with the aim to revive the Nano brand and position it as a more up-market product. GenX Nano comes with an automated manual transmission and a fifth door (open-able hatch) and is available in 4 & 5 gear manual transmission and a 5 gear transmission system in GenX (AMT version). I think the tag of being the Poor man’s car is one of the major reasons of such a good car, not selling enough. After all, whose ego will allow them to buy the cheapest car in the market.

Tata Motors had recently revealed its future product strategy, which mentioned that the automaker will be developing and launching 7-8 new products on just two new platforms. This will thus limit the number of platforms used across its car portfolio from 6 to just 2. This is being done to offer the final products at attractive prices. The said portfolio reshuffle might result in the discontinuation of the Nano, Indica and Indigo. The Nano is being claimed it to be a loss-making project that has been under operation only because of emotional reasons. Meanwhile, the Indica and Indigo are nearing their end of life cycle.

By discontinuing the aforementioned models, Tata will be concentrating on its new range of products, including the Tiago hatchback, Hexa SUV, Tigor compact sedan and the upcoming Nexon Compact SUV. Getting rid of older products is Tata Motors' attempt to revamp its market image and brand perception in the country.

Tata Motors Latest Line up-

TATA BOLT