Bidding farewell to ‘cheapest car’: Tata Nano likely to be phased out soon

The car was initially launched with a price of Rs 1 lakh  |  Photo Credit: Indiatimes

New Delhi: Tata Motors’ Nano, the cheapest car launched in recent times, is likely to be phased out soon as dealers in most parts of the country have stopped placing orders for the cars in the last three-four months. These showrooms are displaying contemporary models such as Tiago, Tigor, Hexa, and Nexon.  

According to media reports, Tata Nano is now also among models clocking lowest monthly production and sales volume.

The car was initially launched with a price of Rs 1 lakh, which has increased with time. Currently, Nano is sold at a price band of Rs 2.25 lakh to Rs 3.20 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

According to a report in the Business Standard, Tata Motors dispatched 180 Nanos to its 630 sales outlets this August (against 711 in August 2016). The number came down to 124 units in September and further dipped to just 57 units in October.

After the company abandoned the Singur plant, Tata Motors had shifted the production facility to Sanand in Gujarat.

According to a source quoted by Business Standard, "The Nano demand is mainly from the taxi segment. We have not stopped production of the car altogether. However, since the focus is on making higher volume models like Tiago (more than 6,200 units a month) and Tigor (around 2,300 units a month), we do not make Nanos every day. The plant makes Nanos as per production targets were given to us".

Tata Motors is going to launch the Tata Nano in an electric avatar on November 28 with the moniker Jayem Neo. The first batch of cars will be supplied shortly, Jayem Automotives Managing Director J Anand said in a statement.

“We already have a well-defined passenger vehicle strategy in place that will look at not only the best way of addressing the segments’ requirements but an overall perspective of the portfolio. We continue to produce Nano catering to customer demand in key markets,” a Tata Motors spokesperson was quoted as saying.

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