Introduction

The Tata Nano is a city car manufactured by Tata Motors. Made and sold in India, the Nano is the cheapest new car in the world today with a price of at launch. 100,000 (approximately US$2000

Journey of the Nano

After a long delay, the much-awaited Nano hit the market in April 2009. The Rs. 1 lakh car was made available to the customer at a little above Rs. 1 lakh, on the road. The launch was marked by high-profile media coverage and then came a waiting period, as expected. Heads turned as soon as people saw a Nano on the road and many wanted to touch and feel the car and look inside the engineering marvel. Auto magazines got down to analysing the vehicle and why it could be priced at Rs. 1 lakh. One such analysis would throw some light on the issue and also give an idea of what the customer finally got. A series of events in the life of the new baby would chronicle its journey over the next few years. April 2009: Limited launch Sept-Oct 2009: Three Nanos catch fire in Delhi, Ahmedabad and Lucknow. Tata Motors orders checks on 7,500 Nanos July 2010: Tata Motors raises Nano price by 4 per cent Oct 2010: Price further increases by Rs. 9,000 Nov 2010: Six Nanos catch fire, prompting the company to offer free protection. Monthly sales plummet to just 509 vehicles. Jan 2011: Nano sales become off-the-shelf across India Nov 2011: Nano gets a facelift, with a more powerful and better fuel economy engine. March 2012: Nano sales hit the peak of 10,475 units for the month June 2012: Sales dip to 5,025 units

Positioning, communication: -During the same period, Tata Motors tried various positioning and communication strategies. Initially positioned as a replacement for two-wheelers, it moved towards a safety platform for the two-wheeler families. It was also positioned as the easy car for the wife, and so on. Some of the ads over the years give us an idea of the companys strategy.

Passenger Car Market in Germany

The German passenger car industry consists of six major companies: Volkswagen, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Porsche, Opel and Ford. The domestic passenger car and light commercial vehicle market reached record highs in 2011. Combined export and domestic sales in 2011 reached EUR 274 billion (10 percent increase on the previous year). This is equivalent to an eight percent increase on 2007 levels further proof that the industry has significantly exceed pre-crisis sales levels.

Automotive Trends
1. Smaller Vehicles makes the running: - Demand for smaller and more energyefficient small and midrange passenger vehicles is growing. In Germany alone, demand in the small car segment has grown significantly. Increased demand for smaller vehicles helped Germany maintain its western European passenger car market leader position. The environment subsidy introduced in the year 2009 has facilitated a shift toward small and compact vehicles. In a recent survey of German drivers conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, 15 percent and 22 percent of German luxury class and SUV drivers respectively indicate a preference to buy a smaller vehicle when next purchasing a vehicle. A further decisive factor driving demand for small vehicles is energy efficiency. Fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emission levels play a pivotal role in auto purchasing behaviour. 2. Changing Premium Segment: - In the past, the type of car owned spoke volumes about its owner and his or her position in society. Today, cars are no longer the simple indicator of wealth and status that they once were. Societal trends in western societies including downshifting and increased environmental awareness are being reflected in new car ownership patterns. In the premium segment, exclusivity and high performance are giving way to sustainable and urban mobility as selling points.

3. Efficiency and Alternative Drive Systems: - In Germany, automotive engineers are hard at work improving internal combustion engine energy efficiency, developing alternative drive technologies (including electric, hybrid, and fuel cell cars), and adapting lightweight materials and electronics. Carbon emission reduction targets, smart traffic management, and the governments electric mobility initiative are major drivers for future mobility growth. According to McKinsey, the overall market value for new vehicles with optimized combustion engines is set to reach between EUR 280 and EUR 330 billion by 2020. 4. CO2 Emissions The Changing Regulatory Framework: - Within Europe, the European Union (EU) has submitted far-reaching proposals to significantly reduce passenger vehicle CO2 emission levels by 2020. Fuel consumption and CO2 emission levels of all European-manufactured passenger vehicles are to be reduced to 130g/km of CO2 through drive train related measures. An additional reduction of 10g/km of CO2 has to be achieved through bio fuels and complementary measures including micro-hybrid implementation in the vehicle architecture; gear change timing gauges, efficient air-conditioning systems, and tire inflation control systems so that a set target of 120g/km of CO2 is realized by 2012. By 2020, vehicles must comply with a value of 95g/km of CO2. 5. Meeting the Environmental Challenge: -Germany has set itself the ambitious target of achieving a 34 million-ton reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020. The proposed economic sanctions leveled by the EU Commission for failure to comply with the 120g/km of CO2 target are equivalent to EUR 0.95 per g/km of CO2. To that end, increased demand for better-performing passenger vehicles is as much of an imperative for the industry as it is a wish of the modern driver. 6. Electromobility The National Electromobility Development Plan: - Germanys federal government has made more than EUR 500 million in funding available as part of its initiative to put one million electricvehicles (EV) on Germanys roads by 2020. The essential technologies required for electric drives, energy storage and grid infrastructure have already been developed. Although very much still a nascent market, sufficient demand exists for serial European EV production to be a reality soon. In Germany alone, one in five potential car buyers is currently delaying the purchase of a new car in order to wait for the market introduction of EVs.

Tata Nano fails to pass crash test (Safety test) conducted by ADAC The results of the Ncap test, conducted last month at ADAC, the German equivalent of the AAA, in Landsberg, Bavaria, raised serious questions about the risks posed by Tata's socalled frugal engineering approach to car safety. The Tata Nano received a zero-star adult protection rating and failed to meet even the most basic UN safety requirements.

Tata Nanos Zero-star Rating by ADAC 64kmph test: The vehicle structure was rated as unstable, increasing the risk of lifethreatening injuries and making the car unsuitable for the fitment of airbags. It showed a high risk of life-threatening injuries in road crashes on frontal impact Child safety: The car achieved a zero-star rating for its child protection as it was not possible to install child seats in the car. UN minimum safety standard: The Nano was not able to meet the UNs minimum safety requirements in the 56km/h crash test. Importing a Car into Germany A car imported to Germany from outside the EU is subject to a 10% import duty and a 15% import value added tax.( http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/import-car.html)

(http://overdrive.in/news/indian-cars-fail-crash-test-maruti-suzuki-alto-tata-nano-fordfigo-hyundai-i10-not-safe-for-you/)

(http://business.mapsofindia.com/automobile/nano-to-be-launched-europe.html)
(http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/indian-cars-fail-european-crashtest-114013101058_1.html) http://profit.ndtv.com/news/industries/article-tata-nano-other-indian-small-cars-failindependent-crash-tests-379193)

(http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jan/31/tata-nano-safetycrash-test-results)