HP, Kerala keep Brand Nano alive even as sales nosedive

The Nano, the ‘People’s Car’ conceived by Ratan Tata over a decade ago and launched in 2009, is as good as dead but it remains in production. A total of 156 Nanos have been produced and sold in the domestic market during the first half of 2018-19. Who is buying the car, which the masses in most parts of the country have dismissed?

Sales in the first half this year are sharply down from 1,436 last year, but have not hit the dead end yet. A few buyers in Kerala and hilly states like Himachal Pradesh and those of the Northeast find value in this car, Mayank Pareek, president of passenger vehicle business at Tata Motors, told Business Standard. “Narrow roads in these regions and the easy manoeuvrability make some buyers stick by the Nano. If you go to the Kangra Valley, you will see the Nano. We keep feeding our dealers in these markets regularly. But it is definitely not going to Mumbai and Delhi,” he added.

The company, which is now thriving on demand for new vehicles like the Tiago and Nexon, has stopped spending on marketing and advertisements of the Nano for the past couple of years. In spite of this, a small demand for the country’s cheapest car still exists.

The Nano now begins at an ex-price of ~236,000, compared to ~253,000 for the Maruti Alto 800, the most sold car in the country. Other vehicles in this entry segment include the Datsun redi- GO (~256,000) and Renault Kwid (~267,000). The Nano clocks the lowest numbers among peers in the entry segment. Tata Motors, however, will not be able to meet this small demand and keep the Nano alive from October next year, when safety regulations for existing car models kick in.