[ This is Essay # 23 in our Spotlight Series. Click here for the archives.]

Ready to buy the new Tata Nano?

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Sharique Ahmed

Tata Nano is, without even a shadow of doubt, the most eagerly awaited car in India. The attention it drew in the recently concluded Auto Expo 2008, was tremendous by any standard. I reached Pragati Maidan last Saturday to catch a glimpse of the ‘talk of the town’, but seeing the mad rush at the venue, I headed over to Nehru place to see the 1 lac laptop, the MacBook Pro.

Tata Nano is the cheapest car ever built. But is this really the ‘People’s car’?

Interestingly the cost of production of Nano comes to 1.2 lacs which is 20,000 more than the ex-showroom price of lowest version of Nano. But to keep the promise of Ratan Tata, Tata Motors is planning to sell first 1000 Nanos at loss. The actual price might be somewhere between 1.3-1.5 lacs when the car finally settles down in the market. With this price tag, second hand Maruti 800 and Omni might give it a tough fight.

But the big question remains, would a scooter user shift to Nano?

My profession requires us to spend a lot of time in making theories and proving it wrong so as to justify our final conclusion. This question popped up in a discussion with my friend and we were eager to do some ‘brainstorming’. He was of the opinion that this car will be a huge success with Aam Aadmi because for him the safety of his family comes first. Nano is a car that runs on 4 wheels, something more than enough to guarantee more safety than a two wheeler. People who buy two wheelers for 30-40 k would love to invest a lac more to buy a safe mode of transportation. Petrol version might be costly but diesel version is coming soon. Safety is the key!

I had my own apprehensions:

1. Investing a lac more isn’t as easy as going to Taj for a dinner. EMI is a viable option which is definitely a plus for Nano.
2. Tata claims to have conducted the crash tests on Nano (Delhi’s blue line bus drivers might be eager to conduct their own tests once Nano hits road in August). The car has the spare tire in the front (the engine is at back) for better resistance to front collision. Safety seems to be acceptable as far as city limits are concerned but definitely not for highways. The height of tyres is a major concern even; this required the bumpers to be big for safety reasons.
3. What about petrol? A scooter gives a mileage of about 60 km per litre but Nano will give only 20. That means a threefold jump in the household expenditure on travel. So the car would not just increase the initial expenditure, the recurring too takes a leap. And I strongly believe that this would seriously undermine the success of Nano with lower middle class. The upper middle class can afford it but then they were already happy with Maruti 800s and Santros. Who is going to buy Nano? Definitely not a Aam Aadmi!
4. Status symbol is another attraction for buyers. But would a car made especially for Aam Aadmi, raise the status of the buyer to the ‘elite’ class? Even psychologically the car doesn’t seem to be a viable option.

I strongly believe that this car would still cater to the elite who previously had access to cars. They perhaps will add few more to their garage for city use by other family members. An Aam Aadmi who is really concerned about safety of his children/parents/wife might give it a go but long term usage might just be too costly for him.

This car is definitely a wonderful piece of engineering but just not perfect.