Where Did Nano Go Wrong?

2071 Words9 Pages
The old adage “a person cannot be too rich or too thin”. As well-known Tata Motors’ (TTM) disappointing experience with the Nano, the $2,000 small size car it introduced with huge publicity in 2008, it is clear a car can be too cheap—at least for consumers who don’t want to be recognized with a low-end car. Ratan Tata, the chairperson of parent Tata Group, announced headlines a decade ago when he ordered up a “people’s car” which will appeal to Indian families who earlier can only own a scooter for travel. But Tata Motors has sold just 229,157 Nanos since deliveries began in 2009, and sales in March were off by 85% than previous year. Tata MD Karl Slym insists the company will not kill the tiny, egg-shaped car. It will soon add improvements to sustain the model, a move that will ultimately bring its price closer to those of competitors. The Nano’s marketing “didn’t jell with anyone,” he says. Scooter drivers were not attracted because others “never think that they are buying a car, they only think that they are buying something between a two-wheeler and a car. Anyone who had a car will never want to buy it, because it will always be supposed to be a two wheeler substitute.” Analysis of stages in complex buying behavior 1. Need recognition 2. Information search 3. Evolution of alternative 4. Purchase decision 5. Post purchase evaluation. Need Recognition. Need for Tata Nano can be driven either by internal stimuli (Desire/attitude/perception) or external stimuli advertising etc. An attempt is made to understand the need recognition process based on Maslow’s theory. Classification of consumer need. Thus it is clear from the Fig- 68% people buy the car driven by safety need. 24% buy a car driven by esteem need. 8% people buy a car driven by basic need. Information Search In this stage customer wants to find out the information about the

More about Where Did Nano Go Wrong?

Open Document