Power of Nano

January 10 2008 will be go down in the chronicles of the automotive industry as a day of revolution. It was definitely a day when automobile majors worldwide turned around and took notice of India.Yes i am talking about the launch of the much awaited 1 lakh car.I was as excited as any body else to have a glimpse of it. Amidst wide spread speculations of cost escalation and detractors deriding the whole idea Tata motors should definitely walk with their heads held high for delivering on something which everybody else dismissed as a wonky idea.The car does look sleek and is definitely worth its weight. It does promises to revolutionize the way India travels.The spree of announcements by other automobile majors of a similar budget car proves that budget cars have a huge market which remains untapped.
As far as the markets the car is likely to exploit are the bourgeoisie, people in the hinterland and the auto rickshaws.Just as the Indica devoured the Fiats and ambassadors in the taxi markets, this car will eat into the auto rickshaw markets. An auto rickshaw costs somewhere upwards of 1.3 lakhs and the nano is not only cheaper its also more spacious.With the launch of nano, lower middle class families' dream of owning a car has got a lot easier. The two wheeler markets are also bound to be in for a change as people would definitely go in for a four wheeler which costs 30-40 k higher than a two wheeler.
On the flip side there is no denying the fact that congestion is bound to increase but it is for the government to provide more roads. One cannot blame the tatas for it. As far as the environmental hazards is concerned the car is definitely going to make it worse though Ratan tata as promised that it will be a clean car.
On the whole nano promises to be a revelation and how it fares is a question which time only can answer.