Comments
Tata Motors is thinking of setting up overseas assembly operations for its small car Nano.
“We are considering the option of assembling the Nano abroad through export of completely knocked down units (CKD), but there are no timelines,” the Tata Motors Managing Director, India Operations, Mr P.M. Telang, told reporters here on Tuesday, on the sidelines of the 4x2 Tata Aria launch.
Wide market
“There are many important markets for the Nano, like the SAARC countries, the Asean region and Latin America. We are studying those markets,” Mr Telang said.
Earlier this year, the car major started exporting Completely Built Units (CBUs) of the Nano to Sri Lanka and Nepal.
Dealership Rejig
Mr R. Ramakrishnan, Vice-President (Commercial Passenger Car Business Unit), on the sidelines of the car launch, said: “We are planning to rejig our dealerships and open product category-specific outlets to increase sales volumes of passenger vehicles.”
The company, at present, has 250 full-range dealerships and plans to add 300-odd Nano dealerships, mostly in tier 3 and 4 cities, as also 100 utility vehicles dealerships by the end of this year. “The passenger car dealerships will also come within the course of this fiscal,” he added.
Sales crash
Tata passenger vehicles sales in the domestic market fell by 38.30 per cent in July to 17,192 units from 27,865 units in the same month last year. Sales of Nano were down 64 per cent at 3,260 units in July 2011. Tata Motors, however, posted a 14.30 per cent increase in commercial vehicle sales to 40,798 units in the domestic market during the month.
On the poor Nano sales, Mr Ramakrishnan said: “A typical Nano customer is not even looking to buy a four-wheeler. We are still at the early stages of understanding the market. We are experimenting with new formats, like selling the car through Big Bazaar outlets and mobile showrooms.”
The company has so far received good response from such initiatives, he added.
Aria 4x2 launch
Tata Motors on Tuesday launched the 4x2 version of its most costly offering, the Aria. A cross-over between a sedan and a sports utility vehicle (SUV), it is priced between Rs 11.61 lakh and Rs 14.26 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi).
Aria 4x2 offers a mileage of 13.7 kmpl, and will be available in three trim levels that include Pure, Pleasure and Prestige. The Aria range along with the 4x2 will be available in 85 cities through 150 showrooms in phase 1, the company said.
“Currently, the 4x4 version is selling approximately 200-250 units per month,” Mr Ramakrishnan said.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.