Tata Motors launches GenX Nano at ~2.1 lakh
TataMotors, India’s largest automaker, on Tuesday commercially launched the GenX Nano in what was the product’s first mega overhaul since its launch in 2009. The model is priced at ~2.1 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai), about twice the price of the first-generation model.
Of the five variants of the GenX Nano, two will be equipped with automatic manual transmission, branded as easy-shift by TataMotors. Priced at ~2.8 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai) the automatic version will be the cheapest in India. The Maruti Suzuki Alto K10, which has the same transmission technology, is priced at ~4.26 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai).
The GenX Nano has bootspace of 110 litres, bluetooth connectivity and a rear speaker system. It is the result of two years of product development, based on customer feedback.
The company has discontinued all previous Nano variants (except the compressed natural gas variant). This has raised the car’s base price from ~1.65 lakh earlier. While the earlier base variant didn’t have air-conditioning, the new one has a blower.
The easy-shift technology, expected to be a big draw among city buyers (for whom traffic congestion is an issue), is one of the many measures taken by the company to help the car shed its low-cost image.
Abdul Majeed, a PricewaterhouseCoopers analyst, said, “They (the company) needed to relook at that product because there have always been customers for it. The roll-out of the GenX Nano was the 38th launch for sales and marketing veteran MAYANK PAREEK, president (passenger vehicle business unit), Tata Motors. In a chat with Swaraj Baggonkar, Pareek says it is important for Tata Motors to keep moving forward. Somehow, they were not able to bridge that gap and convince the customer. For the new Nano, they have taken a lot of the customer feedback and applied it in the right areas.”
The car uses a 624 cc petrol-powered engine, generating peak power of 37.5 bhp. “The Nano is known for its peppy driving performance and, with a top speed of 105 km/hour, we feel it is enough for city driving conditions,” said Girish Wagh, senior vice-president (programme planning and project management).
“About 40 per cent of Nano customers are those who already have a car in their household. People might drive to work in a bigger car but for day-to-day purposes, the Nano could be used,” said Mayank Pareek, president (passenger vehicle business unit).
With the new model, the company hopes to beat its previous year’s sales of 16,901 Nano units.
While the Maruti Alto records monthly sales of 15,000-20,000 units, the Hyundai Eon clocks 6,000 units a month.
WON’T SHARE NEW MODELS WITH TAXI SEGMENT
Tata Power reported a consolidated net profit of ~159 crore in the fourth quarter of 2015 financial year on the back of lower expenses against ~145-crore loss in the same period last year.
On a standalone basis, the company posted a profit of ~213 crore (Rs 84 crore in Q4 2014) which was higher than Street expectation. Bloomberg had estimated a standalone profit of ~203 crore.
The company announced a dividend of ~1.30 per share. Consolidated income fell 7.4 per cent to ~8,240 crore on account of lower price realisation by the group's coal mining companies but the decline was offset by 12 per cent drop in expenses.
Consolidated operating profit for the quarter was 28 per cent higher at ~1,408 crore against ~1,097 crore in the same period last year due to lower depreciation, higher contribution from the company's Mumbai operations (which reported 28 per cent growth in operating profit) and lower coal prices in the Mundra ultra-mega power plant.
The sharpest decline in expense was seen in coal processing charges (48 per cent) and royalty towards coal mining (27 per cent). Also, the company spent less on purchase of power, fuel, raw materials. Depreciation charges were lower by ~110 crore on account of changes in policy.
“The company has significantly improved its profitability in the fourth quarter of FY15 and for the year 2014-15. All units have consistently maintained strong operational performance across our business verticals, despite very challenging circumstances. We have grown our footprints and ventured into many projects in the international market,” Tata Power chief executive officer Anil Sardana said in a statement. The scrip closed at ~75.85 on Tuesday.