Is the Tata Nano in the last leg of its journey?
Sales at all-time low since launch, to 174 units in March 2017; FY17 sales down 63% to 7,591 units
 "Tata Nano car")
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Tata Nano car
The most famous car from the Tata Motors stable, the mini car Nano, is perhaps in the last lap of its journey. The highest monthly sales it clocked in the last fiscal was 1,100 units in April last year.
The sales fell to an all-time low since its launch in March 2009 to just 174 units in March 2017. Cumulatively, between April 2016 to March 2017 the company sold only 7,591 Nanos, down 63 per cent.
Compare this with the beginning of the car that was touted as the 'One lakh car' and was launched amid much fanfare in March 2009 through a lottery system. The initial euphoria around the car got it over 200,000 bookings by May 2009, a landmark of sorts in Indian automotive history. The car managed to gain considerable attention of the international press, and had gained a cult status in the global automobile industry for frugal engineering.
In fact, the car was put on display at the prestigious Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York in 2010.
Consumer interest in the car, however, soon dwindled following a few stray incidents of fire which created a popular perception that being an affordable car, it was not safe. By October 2009, Tata Motors had already ordered pre-emptive checks on the car and retrofitments keeping in mind the incidents of fire.
The damage, however, was done. By the time, the Sanand factory started running in June 2010, the Nano had already missed the bus. The initial idea was to build an affordable car that would convert the two-wheeler buyer to own a mini car for his family. Initial projections had shown that such a car could have the potential to sell around 20,000 units per month (a number close to that of the country's highest selling small car Maruti Suzuki Alto would clock).
The sales fell to an all-time low since its launch in March 2009 to just 174 units in March 2017. Cumulatively, between April 2016 to March 2017 the company sold only 7,591 Nanos, down 63 per cent.
Compare this with the beginning of the car that was touted as the 'One lakh car' and was launched amid much fanfare in March 2009 through a lottery system. The initial euphoria around the car got it over 200,000 bookings by May 2009, a landmark of sorts in Indian automotive history. The car managed to gain considerable attention of the international press, and had gained a cult status in the global automobile industry for frugal engineering.
In fact, the car was put on display at the prestigious Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York in 2010.
Consumer interest in the car, however, soon dwindled following a few stray incidents of fire which created a popular perception that being an affordable car, it was not safe. By October 2009, Tata Motors had already ordered pre-emptive checks on the car and retrofitments keeping in mind the incidents of fire.
The damage, however, was done. By the time, the Sanand factory started running in June 2010, the Nano had already missed the bus. The initial idea was to build an affordable car that would convert the two-wheeler buyer to own a mini car for his family. Initial projections had shown that such a car could have the potential to sell around 20,000 units per month (a number close to that of the country's highest selling small car Maruti Suzuki Alto would clock).
| How the volumes fell | ||
| Month | 2016-17 | 2015-16 |
| April | 1,100 | 1,486 |
| May | 856 | 1,365 |
| June | 481 | 1,700 |
| July | 701 | 2,120 |
| August | 711 | 2,235 |
| September | 610 | 2,415 |
| October | 726 | 2,300 |
| November | 525 | 2,263 |
| December | 1,004 | 1,374 |
| January | 391 | 1,608 |
| February | 312 | 1,414 |
| March | 174 | 732 |
| Total | 7,591 | 21,012 |
| Source: SIAM | ||