A sad day…
The Tata Nano, the ‘cheapest car in the world’, will have its production halted following a dramatic fall in sales which saw just one car produced in June this year, compared to 275 this time last year.
The Nano was unveiled in 2008 as the world’s cheapest car and was made with the intention of converting motorbike and scooter users in India to four wheels for a reasonably low price.
And a low price it was, with the first of the cars rolling off the assembly line in the region of €1,500 back in 2008.
The car was aimed at becoming India’s “people’s car,” but things didn’t quite work out for the brand.
Firstly, cars are more expensive to make than bikes, so to cut down on costs Tata decided to get rid of all unnecessary ‘luxuries’ from their cars.
Unfortunately for buyers, these luxuries included airbags, power steering, a radio, a fourth nut on each wheel, a second windscreen wiper, a second wing mirror, and a whole host of other items.
The car had a whole host of quality and safety issues, including the fact that a number of the cars caught fire during the early days. Tata increased their warranty from 18 months to four years and offered to change affected parts for free, which they blamed on “foreign electrical equipment”.
Overall, Tata thought that focusing on a low price would increase sales, where in reality, the middle class in India preferred to save up for a car rather than buying what they thought was a sub-par machine.
May the Tata Nano rest in peace…
