In India, the middle-class population amounts to 600 million. And in India, a car is not a necessity but a status symbol. Indians start fantasizing about buying a car even before their first salary is credited. And this dream turned into a reality when TATA launched an affordable car under the name ‘TATA NANO’.
Due to constant shortcomings, it could not make its place in the market, and its production was halted. Now, Nano is making a grand comeback.
As predicted by the TFI, Tata Motors is all set to relaunch Nano as an affordable electric car.
Read More: Tata Nano should make a comeback as an all new Electric Car
2005: How TATA Nano was born?
In the year 2005, TATA Motor’s announcement of ‘an affordable car’ astounded India and the Automobile market. The automaker announced that it will manufacture ‘an affordable car’. With an affordable car, TATA meant a budget-friendly car for the Middle class and lower-middle-class families.
The dreams of buying a car for a majority of Indian families were now going to become a reality. But TATA Nano could never really become what it was projected to be.
TATA Nano: An affordable car, that could not sustain its market
TATA Nano after its launch boomed the market. In the year 2010, the company sold 9000 units. But Nano could not meet the fate, imagined for it. It succumbed to its marketing pitch and became a cataclysmic disaster.
There were many shortcomings in the model like it was too tiny to fit a family and it was slow, with less capacity. The main reason behind the low demand was less safety during crashes. Also, the early units had a tendency to catch fire.
Indians were not very happy with the performance and the model dragged itself in the ‘cheap’ category rather than ‘affordable’. The buyers shifted to other models that were ‘affordable’ and gradually the demand dropped. Lastly, in 2019 the production came to a halt when the losses became overbearing for the multinational company.
Nano’s key to Success: Electric Vehicles
As predicted by the TFI earlier, Nano’s success key lies in the reasons for its failure. As the whole world knows, the future of the automobile sector lies in Electrification. And TATA has already stepped into the sector.
According to a report published by The Economic Times, TATA Motors had planned to produce 50,000 Electric Vehicles in the Fiscal Year 2022-23. If they meet their targets, these Electric Vehicles have the potential to generate a revenue of Rs. 5000 Crores for the automaker in FY23 itself.
Revival of Ratan Tata’s dream project
Ratan Tata’s dream project was to provide Indian Middle-class families with an affordable car, and Electra EV founded by him is taking the dream forward.
Electra EV is a firm that offers EV powertrain solutions to TATA Motors and various others automakers. Recently, it delivered a custom-built electric Nano to its founder, Ratan Tata. The custom-built Electric Nano delivered to Ratan Tata was a 72V Nano EV, in which Ratan Tata took a ride.
Electra EV wrote on its LinkedIn page, “It is a moment of truth for Team Electra EV when our founder takes a ride in the custom-built 72V Nano EV, powered by the engineering might of Electra EV’s powertrain. We are super proud to deliver Mr Tata’s Nano EV and gain insights from his invaluable feedback.”
According to Electra EV, such converted Nano EVs are part of an all-electric mobility service, SainikPod Sit & Go that operates in Bengaluru.
Ratan Tata took a drive in the custom-built 72V Nano EV and reviewed it as well. It seems that he has been busy reviewing and refining the electric variant of his dream project, Nano.
How Nano EV could become a game-changer
Nano was launched to make cars available to the lower-middle-class section of society. But the shortcomings did not allow it to be. Now, if the company launches Nano EV with a better design, a better engine with more efficiency, the consumers will lap it up, if it falls under the Rs. 5 lakh category.
As TATA wants to sell 50,000 cars, it needs the middle class to buy them in bulk. The available electric models suit the upper-middle-class e.g. Nexon that ranges between Rs. 12-17 Lakhs.
The motor giant is not only betting on Ratan Tata’s dream project but also trying to contribute to the dream of Eco-friendly India.