It was the March of 2012 when Nano sold 10,475 units and some saw that it might be the time when Tata Nano started getting the respect it deserved. But then the country’s least priced car’s volumes started going south and the car sold a dismal 1,504 units in February 2013. That has led to Tata slashing the Sanand’s plant by over 80 percent. The company is now targeting a production of just 1,500 units per month to avoid piling up of inventory of cars.
The Nano’s stocks are piling up and the dealers have stopped ordering newer units as the units made in October-November are still lying unsold. The Nano plant has a capacity of 2.5 lakh units an annum and the sales figures are nowhere near it. The company has started operating the plant now just 4 days a week in a single shift instead of the 6 days earlier. It is believed that there are over 14,000 Nano cars lying unsold.
Regarding the issue, a Tata Motors spokesperson has stated that, “We are producing as per demand in the market, there is no use making more cars than that. I believe these are temporary phases and production will increase again.” Tata Nano has been believed to be the engineering wonder that India has given to the world but the car has been struggling at its home turf since a long time. Tata has also reduced the production of its passenger vehicle segment cars by around 20-30 percent.
The Nano has been going over a tough road but Tata is not ready to give up on the car as of now. Tata is believed to be developing a 2 cylinder diesel motor for the car and will launch the diesel Nano with a lot of cosmetic upgrades in 2013. The Nano can be seen testing in its next generation around Tata’s facility but only time will tell that how much volumes does the car which was meant for the masses is bought by the masses in mass numbers.
Tata has recently launched an innovative marketing activity by offering to Buy Tata Nano On Credit Card EMI without the need of a car loan processing to attract more buyers to opt for Nano.
Source: FE
