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The entire global auto industry is looking forward to the commercial launch of our own indigenously developed Micro Mini car – The Tata Nano
Ever since the wheel got invented, it has never stopped even in the hard days whether there was war or petrol hike or for that matter shortage of crude oil. Only cheaper options were used, from bigger automobiles they came to smaller ones, from four wheels to two, car pools used to tide over the hardship and people moved to public transport. Presently we are facing a sort of crisis although not so serious as happened during the world wars and in mid seventies when oil prices sky rocketed. In the last two quarters there has been a substantial increase in the sales of small cars. Since mid-2008, car sales in Europe have dropped drastically; huge pileups have been noticed outside the car manufacturing facilities, abandoned airstrips & cheaper parking lots taken outside city limits to store new cars by dealerships.
We are now heading for another grand entry into the World of Mini cars; the entire global auto industry is looking forward to the commercial launch of our own indigenously developed Micro Mini car – The Tata Nano! The timing of Nano launch couldn’t have been better. Even Nostrodamus could not have predicted this world wide recession & economic meltdown. Ratan Tata’s promise five years back to deliver to the world a car priced at hundred thousand rupees has indeed come true. The much awaited launch of the Nano has been announced for March 23. Though a lot of water has flown under the bridge in these five years and there has been a price escalation of 15-20%, it is now to be seen what the introductory price of Nano is going to be. Commitments made five years ago were based on pricing of raw material and other input costs at that time. How Tata plans to keep his word is something that one has to wait & see. This of course is compounded by the fact that how long would they hold the launch pricing even if they manage to announce the price at one lakh! Tatas have come a long way since they first introduced their passenger cars, almost two decades have passed and a lot of R&D has been done in critical areas of customer comfort, reliability, pricing and features, styling, etc. Collaborations with other automobile giants like Fiat, using well established technologies have allowed Tata to produce cost aggressive, well performing, decently styled vehicles.
There is often a discussion lurking under the shadow of Tata Nano – how will the Nano launch affect our own tried, tested & trusted Maruti 800? Actually speaking they are two different segments now. In fact the arrival of the Nano has virtually split the Mini A Segment further: Maruti 800 and Nano 600. Let me also add here that the Nano is not, I repeat, ‘not’ going to replace the two wheeler as the popular buzz word goes around. Two wheeler owners may have a Nano for weekend and other occasions use where the family has to move together but one definitely cannot afford to use the Nano to office and back in terms of maintenance and fuel economy. As predicted by the manufacturer, this car is going to give a fuel economy of 20 KMPL a consumption that has already been ‘endorsed’ by the ARAI in case of the Suzuki A-Star. Hence, the novelty and popularity of Nano is going to be the price factor and the small size! It’s going to be a popular second car option in the urban middle income group house-holds.
Already a lot of variants for the Nano are being thought of, hybrid, battery operated, diesel operated and any other researched power option. Because of its size & weight, Nano can be imagined with various innovative propulsion systems. This car’s arrival is going to turn around the future of Tata’s passenger car offerings in the domestic & global market. It may well get to be the hottest seller of the past and the next 25 years and is sure going to turnaround the fortunes of Tata! But then didn’t we hear Suzuki, GM and others planning a Nano beater for India? These car manufacturing boys love their toys and all of them, for a change, are going strategic saying ‘Mine is smaller than yours’ – one industry where Size Does Matter!
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009
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