Automobile giant Tata Motors is planning to wrap up the production of Tata Nano, owing to the decline in demand from the consumers.The drastic reduction in the production of 'people's car' to an average of two units per day is a clear indication of the model's bleak future.
Tata Nano which came into the market with clamours of delivering the cheapest car has been sidelined by the company's newer models such as Tiago, Tigor, Hexa and Nexon.
According to a report by Business Standard, the dealers have stopped placing orders for the car in the past three-four months.The company had made a subsequent reduction of production from 180 cars in August to 57 units in October.
A car dealer in Uttar Pradesh, as quoted by the Business Standard said, "The company is no longer promoting the car and there was no activity for many months. We are liquidating old stocks. There is hardly any customer query”.
According to a source quoted by Business Standard, "The Nano demand is mainly from the taxi segment. We have not stopped production of the car altogether. However, since the focus is on making higher volume models like Tiago (more than 6,200 units a month) and Tigor (around 2,300 units a month), we do not make Nanos every day. The plant makes Nanos as per production targets given to us".
Nano, launched in 2009 couldn't fulfil the expectations of Ratan Tata, who dreamt of delivering a car priced at Rs 1 lakh to the public.The cheap rate tag of the model kept consumers at a bay.
Vendors supplying spare parts of the model have not yet been informed to stop production. "Production for Nano is not viable. But we also supply parts for Tiago and to the nearby plants of Ford and Maruti. Our plant at Sanand is thus running. We have not stopped making parts for Nano yet, but from how things look, production could stop soon," a vendor was quoted as saying by Business Standard.
However, the company has said that it has not yet decided to put a complete end to the production. ‘’We already have a well-defined passenger vehicle strategy in place that will look at not only the best way of addressing the segments’ requirements but an overall perspective of the portfolio. We continue to produce Nano catering to customer demand in key markets,” a Tata Motors spokesperson said in response to queries made by Business Standard.
Tata Motors is also required to invest in order to make the small car compliant with Bharat Stage VI emission norms, which come into effect from 2020.
A Tata Motors spokesperson was quoted by the Hindu Business Line as saying that the future of the car would depend on regulatory conditions. “The hatchback segment is very important for us and regulations and customer preferences are going to play a major role in defining various sub-segments within this segment,” the spokesperson said.
The company's upcoming launch of the electric version of Nano in collaboration with Coimbatore-based Jayem Automotives could possibly put an end to the petrol model.