No production of Tata Nano for third month in a row; no sales of 'people's car' in March

New Delhi: For the third month in a row Tata Motors did not produce any unit of its entry level small car Nano in March, heightening the uncertainty over the future of the vehicle once dubbed as ‘people’s car’. According to a regulatory filing, the company also said it did not sell even a single unit of the small car last month. Tata Motors has so far maintained that no decision has been made yet on the future of Nano, although in its current form it will not meet the new safety and emission norms and may need infusion of fresh investments. [caption id=“attachment_4125791” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Tata Nano. Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] There was zero production and sales of Nano in March. In the same month last year the company had produced 31 units of Nano and sold 29 units, Tata Motors said in a BSE filing. In February also Tata Motors had said there was zero production of Nano although it sold just one unit in the domestic market during the month. There was no export either. Similarly, in January this year too, Tata Motors had reported zero production and sales of the Nano. When contacted, a Tata Motors spokesperson said no decision has been made yet on the phase out of Nano.

“Decisions on product life cycle is a holistic view taken after considering the market developments, regulations and emerging competitive landscape. Any such decisions are announced as and when it’s taken,” the spokesperson added.

Further, the spokesperson said, “Production planning of a car is a conscious management of demand, system inventory and planned efficiencies. Therefore, speculating on the fate of a car based on a month’s production figure is something the company would not like to participate in.” Company officials had earlier hinted that production and sales of the Nano would stop from April 2020 as Tata Motors has no plans to invest further on Ratan Tata’s dream car to meet strict emission norm under BS-VI and other upcoming safety regulations.