Ratan Tata stayed true to his word of giving India the ‘1 lakh’ car and showing the world that India is not all about cost advantage but can talk and walk innovativeness. The whole world converged in India when Tata Nano was launched. Tata Nano was an embodiment of catering to the ‘bottom-of-the-pyramid’ customer. It was supposed to show that given a value proposition, no product will fail irrespective of the target segment. Technically, it isn’t a bottom-of-the-pyramid product but in the context of the car market and sub USD3000 price tag can be considered as one such product.
Nano was considered to be so much in demand even prior to its launch because it gave an India, the possibility of a four-wheeler at a price unthinkable before. However it did not result in the forecasted sales. There were many reasons for it. As obvious, consumer behaviour was the critical reason. Nano failed on this count. Nano does not, and will never be able to give the consumer the aura of buying a car. In India, when a family buys a car, it signals their arrival on the richness scale. It signifies a certain standard of living. Nano, unfortunately, does not have the snob value generally associated with buying car in India.
One of the other reasons is the negative publicity it received due to the fire mishaps in its rear engine. Rear engines are generally considered unsafe. Although a perception, it added to the frenzy with people staying away from the Nano. For Nano, publicity turned out to be a double edged sword. It got free publicity during, prior and after its launch due to its ridiculously low price tag but the same publicity turned up on its head in a negative way after the mishaps. News of some customers suing the Tatas for compromising on their safety did not do much good to the Tata brand as well.
Things though are changing now. With production volumes up and better distribution in place, we can now see the Nano TVCs running. Although not quite an outstanding ad, it is decently good. I am not sure if I am reading the minds of the Tata Brand Managers but it seems that they are targeting the Tier 1 or 2 and rural towns who have disposable incomes. The second TVC is quite obvious in tis attempt at targeting the couple to move on from two-wheelers to the four-wheeler. Here too I am slightly unhappy with the casting of the actors in the ad. The urban couple would wait till they buy a bigger car rather than a Nano. They have double incomes with both husband-wife earning and easy financing options. A middle aged couple conservative in their buying would have been a more apt audience.
The Nano indeed is picking up volumes now but the mystery behind sluggish sales isn’t a mystery anymore or is it?
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