It's a dream being at the world's largest automotive expo and walk amidst a wide range of cars manufactured by natives and multinationals. The best of so far has been the launch ceremony of Tata's Nano.
The hype the car has managed to create ensured that a mammoth gathering was there at the Tata Hall. It is like the first day show of a Rajinikanth or Chiranjeevi movie. People flocked the Tata hall 2 hours before the ceremony.
Amidst a lot of expectations, discussions and debates, at 11:00 am, we had Ratan Tata appearing on the giant screen and giving a small speech supported by some awesome graphics and brilliant music. Mr.Tata first took on the critics of Nano and finally said he has delivered what he promised.
Minutes later, he came on the stage driving the most awaited car which was appreciated by loud cheers. He got out of a silver color Nano with a sense of accomplishment. People stood on their chairs to have a glimpse of the small car ignoring the repeated appeals and expletives of people sitting at the back. He said that Nano is smaller than Maruti 800 in terms of size but has more inside space than Maruti 800, which is quite remarkable. I personally feel Maruti 800 has the worst seating space. There was a big round of applause when Mr. Tata announced that the car will be available at the promised Rs.1,00,000 with the dealer despite increased cost of raw materials. It will cost about 1.30 lac on road in Delhi. Further, the car also satisfies Euro IV and Bharath III emission norms. This is a very big achievement.
Everyone went berserk when the gates were thrown open for the press to have a closer look at the most exciting four wheeler in the recent past.
At the other end of the excitement, there is this debate going on whether this car should be out given the kind of infrastructure India has and the increasing pollution in metros.
Personally, I feel the car looks good on surface, but a closer look has changed my opinion a bit. The car lacks the factor that makes you look at it for long. Again, to be frank, I have seen this car after seeing the Volvo c70, BMW 3 and 6 series and Audi products which might have made me write this way. Moreover, it is just a one lakh car and Ratan has delivered more than what we expected.
On the whole, the launch is one thing I will not forget in my life. Though the launch had no glittering lights or pretty girls, which most car manufacturers had, Nano has definitely pulled the best crowd of the exhibition.
Finally, this should have been a concept car without any mass production.
January 11, 2008 at 12:43 PM
You mean that the Tata's, after spending 4 years on research and development, should have kept it as a concept car? What business sense does that make?
January 11, 2008 at 1:52 PM
There is no point spending money and for years to produce a concept, at least in India. I believe Ratan Tata has a good business acumen.
January 11, 2008 at 9:39 PM
@akhil
all the concept cars are developed only after considerable research. Moreover, this car can in no way bring huge profits to Tata. Others companies have already said that it is virtually impossible to manufacture this car. So let it be a concept car.
@ santhosh It is a valid point but that is how a concept car is born. Of course, in India the concept has a long way to go.
January 11, 2008 at 11:26 PM
The concept cars that you are talking about are ones where the company gives a do-what-you-want license to its designers. Those cars are never meant for the market, forget the masses.
Nano, on the other hand, was always meant to be launched. It's concept is sound in the sense that a lot of standard features have been sacrificed for the sake of cost economy. Another reason why this car will not make losses is that most of the raw material is made by the Tatas themselves. the steel used in its body is a prime example. There are people who want to buy 50 Nanos at a time. Surely, I don't see any losses in store for Tata. Tata is a unique group. How many companies around the world have interests in as varied fields as Salt and Steel? So, comparing them to other car makers is pointless.
And forget about India, imagine what this car could do in other developing countries around the world.
January 12, 2008 at 11:35 AM
i only said it will not bring huge profits to Tata. This car will bring huge pain to commuters with every bugger going for a car.
January 12, 2008 at 11:40 AM
i mean, that the roads especially in the metros will get jammed and more accidents are bound to happen. It will fulfill common man's dream to own a car but it wil increase other troubles.
January 12, 2008 at 12:45 PM
I believe it will bring profits to the Tatas. I trust Ratan Tata's business acumen--he wouldn't get into all this unless he was sure he'd make a profit. I reiterate my point about the global market for the car. Philanthropy is not the purpose of this car.
As for the pollution and congestion, you are assuming a few things. Roads are getting congested anyway. The reason for that is the poor performance by the civic authorities. If you had to blame the cars for it, then entry level cars like the Maruti 800 and Alto need to be removed from the market. And any cheap car introduced in the future would have to be banned too. Irrespective of all this though, the income levels of city dwellers will continue to rise, if not the Nano, they'd buy a slightly costlier car anyway!
January 12, 2008 at 9:12 PM
assume this way - total steel cost - 10,000
tyres - 2000
engine - 10,000
glasses and seats - 10,000
interiors, breaks, acc, steering - 10,000
lights, wipers, and other electronics - 10,000
distribution to dealers per car - 5,000
other sundry parts or important parts - 10,000
On the whole the car costs 75,000
so 25,000 per car in India. where are the huge profits?
Of course in other countries he can sell it for higher price but there is competition too. He will anyway incur exporting expenditure.
I don't really see any big profits. Profits might come but not very huge. That is what I mean.
Ratan said that he wants even the middle class to drive a car. I too belive he is not a philantropist and even I would like to see how he will make profits with Nano.
January 13, 2008 at 1:19 AM
I don't know what the industry figures are and how much you mean when you say 'huge', but if Tata makes 25000 on each car sold, I guess that's quite big a profit. Multiply it with, say, 10k cars sold in an year and it amounts 25 crores. Not bad I'd say.
Anyway, I guess time will tell what's in store.
PS: the costs you mentioned add up to 67k.
January 13, 2008 at 12:20 PM
ha ha ha
also add the production costs which includes labor charges (5,000), electricity (1,000), machinery (5,000), graphics and painting (5,000), marketing (1,000) per car and other overheads (6,000) it will bring down the profit per car IN INDIA to rs.10,000. With the rising material prices (as told by Ratan himself)i am just waiting to see how much profits the car is going to make.
Just a blind calculation which is based on the calculations came up during meeting the industry people here.
But what is important is that India has shown to the world what she is capable of.
January 14, 2008 at 12:28 PM
"But what is important is that India has shown to the world what she is capable of."
Totally agree with that.
January 16, 2008 at 12:03 PM
Vinay, dont forget the reliance story. They gave away cellphones worth more than Rs.5000 for just 500 and still they laughed their way to the bank.
There is a huge market waiting for this car and thats what Ratan Tata did precisely - Package a Luxury Product in such a way to appeal for the mass market. Ofcourse one has to sacrifice the frills to experience the feeling of owning the car at such a down-to-earth price.
Here the profit per unit may be less. But Tata is looking at the volumes from the mass market and the mass market is going to deliver that - precisely.
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