Never a poor man's car, we will see a Nano resurrection: Tata

By Shereen Bhan

New Delhi: On a cold winter morning in 2009, the elusive Ratan Tata spoke to a few of us about his dream project - the Nano. Three years later, as he prepares to hand over the reins to Cyrus Mistry, Tata was back in the capital on a foggy morning to clear the air about the tepid response to the world’s cheapest car, the 2G controversy and Tata Motors’ global plans.

Despite incidents of the Nano catching fire, poor sales and two large-scale “voluntary upgrades”, Tata defended the Nano project, saying “The concept is robust and I don’t consider it to be a flop. We never pushed it as a poor man’s car. Though I concede we have wasted an early opportunity. We will see a resurrection of the Nano”.

[caption id=“attachment_173435” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“While the company is still exploring the possibility of taking the Nano to Europe, it would not be in its current avataar, said Tata. AFP”] [/caption]

When asked if the bugbears in the Nano have been addressed and if there was a possibility of another upgrade, Tata said, “The upgrades were carried out to address issues related to problematic supplies from vendors and incorporate customer feedback. Upgrades will resolve the earlier issues. We will launch variants of the model to move up the value chain.”

While the company is still exploring the possibility of taking the Nano to Europe, it would not be in its current avataar, said Tata. He added that a diesel Nano was at least a year away. While Tata didn’t specify when the Nano project would breakeven, his colleague Ravi Kant said the company is trying to meet its internal timeline, but it was challenging.

Challenging is also how Tata described the external environment. JLR is particularly sensitive to the volatility in the international markets but Tata is confident it would ride out the storm. Tata Motors is not only exploring the possibility of assembling the Land Rover in India but also manufacturing it here.

Changing gears, Tata spoke about the 2G scam and its impact on the brand. He said, “We were one of the victims of the 2G scam and not one of the offenders. Difficult to say what we have lost. Hope for an India of equal opportunity, where there is no preferential treatment”.

Tata added that despite the seemingly adversarial relationship between India Inc and the government he was not pessimistic or downbeat and wants the government to take decisive action.