Rebranding world's cheapest car: 10 changes I would like to see in Tata Nano

Tata Motors, which saw its Nano people’s car fare poorly in the marketplace despite several boosters, is said to be planning to relaunch it as a Smart City Car. Given the new hype around the word Smart Cities popularised by Narendra Modi, this is a good move.

Girish Wagh, Senior Vice-President of TaMo, is quoted by The Times of India as saying: “We are carrying out multiple interventions to improve the product as well as its image to ensure that the Nano lives up to its promise.”

The Nano is a car worth trying harder with, given the excitement it caused at the time of its launch in 2008, but it needs a complete makeover, not just a touch-up.

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In fact, it has potential not only as a Smart City Car, but also as a Smart Rural Vehicle, provided the company rethinks the car from the point of view of different customer. It could work as both a second car for the better off, and as a first car for specific target segments that look for utility and price.

I would be happy to buy a Tata Nano as a second car. The changes I would like to see are the following - but not all of them need to be in the basic car model.

#1: A comfortable and spacier two-seater city car which has some boot space too - and foldable rear seats that can make way for more boot space.

#2: A car with big changes in the outward design. The current design is not sexy enough, and the young, who might be potential buyers, would not buy it. College-goers now using bikes may, conceivably, buy a car that looked like the VW Beetle, even if it performed like a - well - Nano.

#3: An automatic transmission by default - which will target women and senior citizens. Honda scooters is the preferred choice of all those who don’t want to be kicking bikes into action. No reason why cars have to be more complicated. The Maruti-Suzuki Celerio is an effort to rope in new car users. The Nano should target the same.

#4: An electric car priced at a max of Rs 3.5-4 lakh, and which can be charged easily from home power sockets.

#5: A rural Nano version, with a bench-like front seating (where one kid can be accommodated on the lap of the second traveler), and an open carrier (like a micro-truck) at the back to carry goods or more kids. Rural families travel on the backs of mini-trucks like this only.

#6: A price tag in the range of Rs 2 lakh (on-road) and going upto Rs 3 lakh (which is the current range anyway).

#7: Tubeless tyres as the default option to make the car hassle free on punctures.

#8: A diesel version for rural areas; for city areas, mileage is not an issue, since it is meant to be a short-distance car.

#9: Instant payment options by credit cards; instant EMI options (without elaborate paperwork) like the way smartphones are sold - automatic conversion of loans to EMIs.

#10: A name change. The name Nano was a good one in 2008; today it has the looks of a loser. It is not easy to reposition a loser with cosmetic changes and an old name. A new name will help Tata Motors reinvent the platform.