With 70 per cent of car sales in the Indian market coming from the small car, Tata Motors is renewing its focus on the Nano, with plans to put out a CNG version around six months from now. It will be followed by a diesel variant and a second-generation car three years on. While Karl Slym, the new Managing Director, who is just three weeks into the job admits the car is “not particularly where we wanted it to be,” he emphasises that it is as important for Tata Motors as it is for “brand India auto,” and that focus on the volume sector will help enhance overall sales.
Ranjit Yadav, the newly appointed President of TM’s Passenger Car Business Unit, calls the Nano a “must do” and asserts that the small car is now at “inflexion point.” Nano sales have seen resurgence recently with 9,000 units sold last month, Slym says, adding that it will benefit from CNG and diesel variants.
The former will come into the market in the first half of 2013 and launch of the latter is a bit further away, he reveals. The overseas markets that will be targeted for the current product cycle will be Europe, Asean and South Africa. “The second-generation Nano will be for North America and Europe, and we expect this will be around three years from now,” he says.