Thursday’s class regarding the Tata Nano made me pretty hyped up. The idea of a car costing only $2000 is very intriguing. However, as I was perusing through articles, one sentence stood out to me.
Taken from Wikipedia, “The Chairman is reported to have said, “It is not a car with plastic curtains or no roof — it’s a real car.”[38]”
This is extremely debatable, especially since the Nano originated and is marketed toward India. The concept of a “real car” in India could vastly differ from the standards of a Canadian. Contrasts in wealth disproportions, population (traffic), road conditions, weather, and public transit services are all factors in how the Nano would perform under these scenarios.
Having said that, natural price inflations could be expected, for “redesigning” to suit environmental and safety concerns. Furthermore, because the target audience for the Nano are young adults, university students who can’t afford BMWs, insurance would be another problem.
To be fair, these are probably not going to be the same marketing tools used to display the Nano in North America, but you have to wonder if a “real” car and its price in India would translate similarly into the Canadian market.
