CAR! Aaru N(j)ano???

Picture Courtesy: http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/

For those uninitiated to the mallu language; the title of this post means "CAR (huge exclamation) who me???" Why not; after all the Nano just costs a lakh. So now even njan (moi) can own a Nano.

According to the pundits Tata's new indigenous economic wonder is all set to give the 2-wheeler market a run for it's money. The overwhelming feeling is that people who are already poised to buy a car will not opt for a Nano now as it might be considered a step back. Hence the Swifts and the Santros can breathe easy for now. The natural target is the 2-wheeler owning junta who now have a chance consider the safety and capacity of 4 wheels over their trusty steeds not to mention the obvious pride at having doubled the number of wheels owned. Another obvious customer segment could comprise of existing car owners who might want a spare car but could not find a way of fitting it into the budget earlier. There will also be a set of hobby buyers but that will probably be a very small segment.

Although it is too early in the day to comment about the sucess of this venture one has a feeling that this category of economy class cars is here to stay and will herald new cost cutting and process improvement measures in the car manufacturing process. The Tatas have just lowered the bar for entry into the psuedo elite car owners society. Obvious business strategies by key competitors like Maruti would be to reduce the cost of the 800 to under a lakh.

Moving on to the other eco in this equation; the adverse ecological effects that Nano could probably cause. A low priced car could only lead to the increase in congestion and emission of CO2 equivalent gases. Estimations made in an article in the Economic Times suggests that in the next 5 years Nano will only attribute to an 8% increase in the CO2 levels. Not as drastic as a few might say.

For now let us wait and watch as to how the script unfolds for Tata's Little Wonder.

Also check:


With Cars in Reach, Indians Must Learn to Drive (January 11, 2008)


Four Wheels for the Masses: The $2,500 Car (January 8, 2008)

Happy Driving,

Sumod