The Success of Nano

The Success of Nano

Tata Motors’ launch of Nano in 2011 after enjoying tremendous international publicity, could not transfer this mass awareness into actual sales. It was stated that its sales plummetted to less than a thousand vehicles a month in the last quarter of the year.

There is, however, a bright spot. A vehicle considered to be a small family car, or a replacement for a two-wheeler, has been discovered to be a runaway success in a very unlikely area of India. This odd, puny vehicle which has mismatched front and back wheels and a small two-cylindered engine, has captured the hearts of petty businessmen in the hills of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Sikkim. It has conquered the two most challenging, and punishing accesses to Darjeeling. On the Teesta to Darjeeling slope upwards, where a wrong change of gear can make the vehicle roll down backwards, this little dream on wheels whizzes up with 4 passengers competing with its Goliath-like SUV brothers.

It seems like the financial purchasing package created the niche. Rs. 25,000 down payment and a Rs. 2,500 EMI tempted budding tour entrepreneurs to take the plunge. The agile performance of the vehicle, its reliability and certainly its fuel economy, have made it a runaway success. Tata Motors must take advantage of this niche segment success and search for other geographical areas to implement it.