“Study on Consumer

behavior at Tata
Motors for Nano”

1
INTRODUCTION

2
Introduction
Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes
they use to select, secure, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy
needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society. [1] It blends
elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics. It attempts to
understand the decision-making processes of buyers, both individually and in groups. It
studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioural
variables in an attempt to understand people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the
consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general.
Customer behaviour study is based on consumer buying behaviour, with the customer
playing the three distinct roles of user, payer and buyer. Research has shown that consumer
behaviour is difficult to predict, even for experts in the field. [2] Relationship marketing is an
influential asset for customer behaviour analysis as it has a keen interest in the re-discovery
of the true meaning of marketing through the re-affirmation of the importance of the
customer or buyer. A greater importance is also placed on consumer retention, customer
relationship management, personalisation, customisation and one-to-one marketing. Social
functions can be categorized into social choice and welfare functions.
Each method for vote counting is assumed as social function but if Arrow’s possibility
theorem is used for a social function, social welfare function is achieved. Some
specifications of the social functions are decisiveness, neutrality, anonymity, monotonicity,
unanimity, homogeneity and weak and strong Pareto optimality. No social choice function
meets these requirements in an ordinal scale simultaneously. The most important
characteristic of a social function is identification of the interactive effect of alternatives and
creating a logical relation with the ranks. Marketing provides services in order to satisfy
customers. With that in mind, the productive system is considered from its beginning at the
production level, to the end of the cycle, the consumer

Black box model

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 BUYER'S
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS BUYER'S BLACK BOX
RESPONSE
Marketing Environmental Buyer
Decision Process
Stimuli Stimuli Characteristics

Problem
recognition Product choice
Economic Attitudes
Information Brand choice
Product Technological Motivation
search Dealer choice
Price Political Perceptions
Alternative Purchase
Place Cultural Personality
evaluation timing
Promotion Demographic Lifestyle
Purchase decision Purchase
Natural Knowledge
Post-purchase amount
behaviour
The black box model shows the interaction of stimuli, consumer characteristics, decision
process and consumer responses.[3] It can be distinguished between interpersonal stimuli
(between people) or intrapersonal stimuli (within people). [4] The black box model is related
to the black box theory of behaviourism, where the focus is not set on the processes inside a
consumer, but the relation between the stimuli and the response of the consumer. The
marketing stimuli are planned and processed by the companies, whereas the environmental
stimulus are given by social factors, based on the economical, political and cultural
circumstances of a society. The buyers black box contains the buyer characteristics and the
decision process, which determines the buyers response.
The black box model considers the buyers response as a result of a conscious, rational
decision process, in which it is assumed that the buyer has recognized the problem.
However, in reality many decisions are not made in awareness of a determined problem by
the consumer.
Information search
Once the consumer has recognised a problem, they search for information on products and
services that can solve that problem. Belch and Belch (2007) explain that consumers
undertake both an internal (memory) and an external search.
Sources of information include:
 Personal sources
 Commercial sources

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 Public sources
 Personal experience
The relevant internal psychological process that is associated with information search is
perception. Perception is defined as "the process by which an individual receives, selects,
organises, and interprets information to create a meaningful picture of the world".
Consumers' tendency to search for information on goods and services makes it possible for
researchers to forecast the purchasing plans of consumers using brief descriptions of the
products of interest.[5]
The selective perception process
Stage Description
 Selective exposure consumers select which promotional messages they will expose
themselves to.
 Selective attention consumers select which promotional messages they will pay
attention to.
 Selective comprehension consumer interpret messages in line with their beliefs,
attitudes, motives and experiences.
 Selective retention consumers remember messages that are more meaningful or
important to them.
The implications of this process help develop an effective promotional strategy, and select
which sources of information are more effective for the brand.
Evaluation of alternatives
At this time the consumer compares the brands and products that are in their evoked set.
The evoked set refers to the number of alternatives that are considered by consumers
during the problem-solving process. Sometimes also known as consideration , this set
tends to be small relative to the total number of options available. How can the marketing
organisation increase the likelihood that their brand is part of the consumer's evoked set?
Consumers evaluate alternatives in terms of the functional and psychological benefits that
they offer. The marketing organisation needs to understand what benefits consumers are
seeking and therefore which attributes are most important in terms of making a decision. It
also needs to check other brands of the customer’s consideration set to prepare the right
plan for its own brand.
Purchase decision

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Once the alternatives have been evaluated, the consumer is ready to make a purchase
decision. Sometimes purchase intention does not result in an actual purchase. The marketing
organisation must facilitate the consumer to act on their purchase intention. The organisation
can use a variety of techniques to achieve this. The provision of credit or payment terms
may encourage purchase, or a sales promotion such as the opportunity to receive a premium
or enter a competition may provide an incentive to buy now. The relevant internal
psychological process that is associated with purchase decision is integration. Once the
integration is achieved, the organisation can influence the purchase decisions much more
easily.
[6]
There are 5 stages of a consumer buying process they are: The problem recognition stage,
meaning the identification of something a consumer needs. The search for information,
which means you search your knowledge bases or external knowledge sources for
information on the product. The possibility of alternative options, meaning whether there is
another better or cheaper product available. The choice to purchase the product and then
finally the actual purchase of the product. [6] This shows the complete process that a
consumer will most likely, whether recognisably or not, go through when they go to buy a
product.
Postpurchase evaluation
The EKB (Engel, Kollat, Blackwell) model was further developed by Rice (1993) which
suggested there should be a feedback loop, Foxall (2005) further suggests the importance
of the post purchase evaluation and that it is key because of its influences on future
purchase patterns.

Other influences
Consumer behaviour is influenced by internal conditions such as demographics,
psychographics (lifestyle)sadam , personality, motivation, knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and
feelings. Psychological factors include an individuals motivation, perception, attitude and
belief, while personal factors include income level, personality, age, occupation and
lifestyle.
Congruence between personality and the way a persuasive message is framed (i.e., aligning
the message framing with the recipient’s personality profile) may play an important role in

6
ensuring the success of that message. In a recent experiment, five advertisements (each
designed to target one of the five major trait domains of human personality) were
constructed for a single product. The results demonstrated that advertisements were
evaluated more positively the more they cohered with participants’ dispositional motives. [7]
Tailoring persuasive messages to the personality traits of the targeted audience can be an
effective way of enhancing the messages’ impact.
Behaviour can also be affected by external influences, such as culture, sub-culture, locality,

royalty, ethnicity, family, social class, past experience reference groups, lifestyle, market

mix factors.

Tata Motors, also listed in the New York Stock Exchange (September 2004), has emerged as

an international automobile company. Through subsidiaries and associate companies, Tata

Motors has operations in the UK, South Korea, Thailand, Spain, South Africa and

Indonesia. Among them is Jaguar Land Rover, acquired in 2008. In 2004, it acquired the

Daewoo Commercial Vehicles Company, South Korea's second largest truck maker. The

rechristened Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicles Company has launched several new

products in the Korean market, while also exporting these products to several international

markets. Today two-thirds of heavy commercial vehicle exports out of South Korea are from

Tata Daewoo. In 2005, Tata Motors acquired a 21% stake in Hispano Carrocera, a reputed

Spanish bus and coach manufacturer, and subsequently the remaining stake in 2009.

Hispano's presence is being expanded in other markets. In 2006, Tata Motors formed a

51:49 joint venture with the Brazil-based, Marcopolo, a global leader in body-building for

buses and coaches to manufacture fully-built buses and coaches for India - the plant is

located in Dharwad. In 2006, Tata Motors entered into joint venture with Thonburi

Automotive Assembly Plant Company of Thailand to manufacture and market the

company's pickup vehicles in Thailand, and entered the market in 2008. Tata Motors (SA)

(Proprietary) Ltd., Tata Motors' joint venture with Tata Africa Holding (Pty) Ltd. set up in

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2011, has an assembly plant in Rosslyn, north of Pretoria. The plant can assemble, semi

knocked down (SKD) kits, light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles ranging from 4

tonnes to 50 tonnes.

Tata Motors is also expanding its international footprint, established through exports since

1961. The company's commercial and passenger vehicles are already being marketed in

several countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia, South Asia, South

America, CIS and Russia. It has franchisee/joint venture assembly operations in

Bangladesh, Ukraine, and Senegal.

The foundation of the company's growth over the last 66 years is a deep understanding of

economic stimuli and customer needs, and the ability to translate them into customer-

desired offerings through leading edge R&D. With over 4,500 engineers, scientists and

technicians the company's Engineering Research Centre, established in 1966, has enabled

pioneering technologies and products. The company today has R&D centres in Pune,

Jamshedpur, Lucknow, Dharwad in India, and in South Korea, Spain, and the UK.

It was Tata Motors, which launched the first indigenously developed Light Commercial

Vehicle in 1986. In 2005, Tata Motors created a new segment by launching the Tata Ace,

India's first indigenously developed mini-truck. In 2009, the company launched its globally

benchmarked Prima range of trucks and in 2012 the Ultra range of international standard

light commercial vehicles. In their power, speed, carrying capacity, operating economy and

trims, they will introduce new benchmarks in India and match the best in the world in

performance at a lower life-cycle cost.

Tata Motors also introduced India's first Sports Utility Vehicle in 1991 and, in 1998, the Tata

Indica, India's first fully indigenous passenger car.

In January 2008, Tata Motors unveiled its People's Car, the Tata Nano. The Tata Nano has

been subsequently launched, as planned, in India in March 2009, and subsequently in 2011

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in Nepal and Sri Lanka. A development, which signifies a first for the global automobile

industry, the Nano brings the joy of a car within the reach of thousands of families.

Tata Motors is equally focussed on environment-friendly technologies in emissions and

alternative fuels. It has developed electric and hybrid vehicles both for personal and public

transportation. It has also been implementing several environment-friendly technologies in

manufacturing processes, significantly enhancing resource conservation.

Through its subsidiaries, the company is engaged in engineering and automotive solutions,

automotive vehicle components manufacturing and supply chain activities, vehicle

financing, and machine tools and factory automation solutions.

Tata Motors is committed to improving the quality of life of communities by working on

four thrust areas - employability, education, health and environment. The activities touch the

lives of more than a million citizens. The company's support on education and employability

is focused on youth and women. They range from schools to technical education institutes to

actual facilitation of income generation. In health, the company's intervention is in both

preventive and curative health care. The goal of environment protection is achieved through

tree plantation, conserving water and creating new water bodies and, last but not the least,

by introducing appropriate technologies in vehicles and operations for constantly enhancing

environment care.

With the foundation of its rich heritage, Tata Motors today is etching a refulgent future.

History of Tata Nano

After having successfully launched the low cost Tata Ace truck in 2005, Tata Motors began
development of an affordable car that would appeal to the many Indians who drive
motorcycles.[4] The purchase price of this no frills auto was brought down by dispensing
with most nonessential features, reducing the amount of steel used in its construction, and
relying on low cost Indian labor, as well as a new design concept called Frugal Engineering.
[5]

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“Frugal Engineering” was a term coined in 2006 by Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosen
to describe the design process behind the Tata Nano. This type of design concept was
[6]
designed to better the those at the bottom of the pyramid. However, “A Study on
Consumer Perceptions & Expectations for Tata Nano” shows that the bottom of the pyramid
[7]
is not very aware of what they are getting when purchasing a Tata Nano. While that paper
may seem to focus on the Indian contribution, the Nano was a truly international effort.
“Tata turned to Germany’s Bosch for a new engine-management system; Italy’s I.D. E. A.
Institute and Trilix for styling and exterior design; India’s Sona Koyo for lightweight
steering shafts; America’s Johnson Controls for the seating system; Japan’s Toyo for the
engine-cooling Germany’s Behr for the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning system;
[8]
and India’s Madras Rubber Factory for tougher than normal rear tires.” So to call it the
Indian Car is understandable, but misleading. The Nano is an excellent example of LAPD.
The "LAPD (lean principle applied product development) process is implemented with
utilization of external sources of knowledge and utilization of the digital technology that
support the product development process in order to complement the weakness of
[9]
technological capability." While the Nano is engineerd from the bottom up, the existing
economies of scale from other manufactures are not to be ignored. For the Nano, Tata
motors chose to "outsource 85% of the Nano’s components and use 60% fewer vendors than
normal to reduce transaction costs and achieve better economies of scale".[10]
The introduction of the Nano received much media attention due to its low price.
Expectations and effects
Expectations created for the car during the run up to its production may have been out of
proportion with its realized success. A 2008 study, by Indian rating agency CRISIL, thought
the Nano would expand the nation's car market by 65%, [12] but, as of late 2012, news reports
have detailed the underwhelming response of the Indian consumer to the offering; sales in
the first two fiscal years after the car's unveiling remained steady at about 70,000 units
although Tata appears intent on maintaining a capacity to produce the car in much larger
quantities, some 250,000 per year, should the need arise.[13]
It was anticipated that its 2009 debut would greatly affect the used car market, and prices
did drop 25-30% prior to the launch. [14] Sales of the Nano's nearest competitor, the Maruti
800, fell by 20% immediately following the unveiling of the Nano.[15] It is unknown if the
Nano has had a lasting effect on the prices of and demand for close substitutes, however. In
July 2012, Tata Group Chairman, Ratan Tata, said that the car has immense potential in the

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developing world while admitting that early opportunities were wasted due to initial
problems.[
Singur factory pullout
Tata Motors announced in 2006 that the Nano would be manufactured in Singur, West
Bengal.[17] Local farmers soon began protesting the forced acquisition of their land the new
factory entailed.[17] Tata first delayed the Nano launch and later decided to build the car in a
different state, Gujarat, instead.
Gujarat Factory Controversy
The plant was moved to Gujarat after the controversy in Singur. The Gujarat plant came
under severe criticism from sections of society, due to a large amount of soft-loan offered by
the Gujarat government. The Gujarat government offered a loan of Rs. 9570 Crores, with a
meagre interest rate of 0.1% and with the loan to be paid back in 20 years. The government
also promised to build a four-lane road and give exemption on electricity duty, registration
and transfer charges of land. The government also promised to put up a waste disposal plant,
supply natural gas through a pipeline and provide 100 acres near Ahmedabad for a
township. [19]
The opposition parties alleged mass corruption in the project. The opposition is also
claiming that the project is actually heavily subsidied by the people to the tune of Rs. 60,000
[20]
per car, which is more than half of the initial offer price of the car. This subsidization
comes in many forms. The farmers who agreed to lease their land to Tata motors found out
afterward that they would not receive any compensation. The land that government sold to
the company was done so for under half of its market value. This is where the savings lie. [21]
This is just another example of a developing country (or in this case, a state), paying
incentives which are too high in the hopes of landing some investment. The conservative
estimates start at 800 million $US, which is more than Tata's investment.
Price
Announced as the least expensive production car in the world, Tata aimed for a price of one
lakh rupees, or 100,000, which was approximately $2,000 US at the time. [23] Only the very
first customers were able to purchase the car at that price, however, and, as of 2012, the
price for the basic Nano is around 150,000.[24] Increasing material costs may be to blame
for this rapid rise in price.[25]

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Compared to the Volkswagen Beetle it has a relatively low price, however. In 1990, a Beetle
from Mexican factories was priced at $5,300,[26] about $9,428 in today's money. The Ford
Model T's initial price was about $850, equivalent to $21,987 today.
Cost-cutting features
The Nano's design implements many measures that make its manufacture cheap.
 The Nano's trunk is only accessible from inside the car, as the rear hatch does not
open.[28]
 One windscreen wiper instead of the usual pair (also seen earlier on certain Citroen
and Mercedes models) [11]
 No power steering, unnecessary due to its light weight[11]
 Three lug nuts on the wheels instead of the usual four (also seen on Smart) [29]
 Only one wing mirror[11]
 Radio or CD player is optional (the idea picked on some basic car models in North
America) [11]
 No airbags on any model [30]
 624cc rear engine has only 2 cylinders (recently implemented in new Fiat 500, with
a surcharge) [11]
 No air conditioning in base model (as on most basic car models in Europe and North
America)
Tata Nano 800
There are reports for a larger capacity Tata Nano, the car will feature an 800cc engine and
will compete with the segment topper Maruti Suzuki Alto 800. Most probably the car will
be launched by 2013-end and it will have a competitive price tag of around Rs. 2.5 lakh.
The 800 version will be the last among the three upgraded versions of Nano, while other
two Tata Nano Diesel and Nano CNG will be launched shortly.
Technical specifications
The Nano (2012) is a 38 PS (28 kW; 37 hp) car with a two-cylinder 624 cc rear engine.
The car complies with BS4 Indian emission standards and can also meet European emission
standards as well.
The development of the Nano had led to 31 Design and 37 Technology patents being filed
Radical powerplants
While the Nano is driven by a petrol engine, several more-radical powerplants have been
proposed but not put into production. Also, an upscale version was shown at an autoshow.
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Compressed-air engine
Tata Motors signed an agreement in 2007 with a French firm, Motor Development
International, to produce a compressed air car Nano.[36] While the vehicle was supposed to
be able to travel approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) on $3 US of electricity to compress
the air, Tata's Vice President of Engineering Systems confirmed in late 2009 that vehicle
range continues to be a problem.
Diesel
A website has speculated that the Nano might be made available with a diesel engine. [38]
Tata Motors have not confirmed this but have stated: "As of now there is no Diesel variant
of the Nano. The Nano is only available in a Petrol version."
Electric vehicle
Tata has discussed the possibility of producing an electric version, [40] and while it showcased
an electric vehicle Nano at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show,[41] no such car is currently on the
market.
If an EV Nano is sold it is expected to be the "world's cheapest electric car",[42] use lithium-
ion batteries, and have a range of 80 miles (130 km).[43] A Norwegian electric car specialist,
Miljøbil Grenland AS, has been named as a supposed partner in the project.[40]
European export
An upscale Nano concept car called the Europa was shown at the 2009 Geneva Motor
Show.

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LITERATURE REVIEW

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 LITERATURE REVIEW
Article 1 :What gave Nano a headstart ?
The Nano could potentially challenge the conventional wisdom within the auto industry that wholly
new concepts do not live long enough. New launches basically add a whistle here and a bell there
to the plethora of existing models. Indeed, in more than 70 car launches worldwide, there have
been not more than a handful of seminal shifts within this industry. But the Tata offering has come
to topple all those casts by reordering the status-quo. The whole story seems to strike two notes at
once. The first one is true to the old adage among businesses that the wise profit from giving that
which profits their customers; the second dares to contrarily create and nurture a space that others
overlooked or even rejected. Some known facts Not too long ago, many pundits within the
industry had held that small cars such as the Maruti 800 have outlived their use and must,
therefore, pack up. Yet, just into 2008, a glowing Mr. Ratan Tata drove on to the stage in his Nano,
that sports a far lower powered engine and which may soon storm the Indian roads. Surprisingly,
many of the same pundits who had bemoaned the twilight of Maruti 800 have now begun to
celebrate the business sense that the Nano exudes. It looks like, in any case, the Tata Nano project
has defied textbook constructs of successful venturing. In fact, we knew for good reasons that there
is much less money to be made in small cars. We also knew that products conceived for specific
markets have less possibility of success than those visualized on a global basis. And, admittedly,
auto majors with a wider, deeper portfolio of cars are rightly believed to be able to gain more
profitably from a radical but relevant offering. Such manufacturers, it is often acknowledged, are
able to reap from the economies of scale that can be got from sharing the costs of design,
manufacture and retail, among their entire product line-up.
Small-car concept The Tata project bore none of the above usual stamps of success. Yet it is
pretty hard to term Nano anything but a success going by the reception it received. This perhaps
indicates that the real game is one of strategy. Indeed, it is not so much about cars or of experience
as about getting clear the underlying concepts and attitudes. Ironically, Tata's capture of the "small
car concept" is in itself hardly path-breaking.

Small-car concept

The Tata project bore none of the above usual stamps of success. Yet it is pretty hard to term

Nano anything but a success going by the reception it received. This perhaps indicates that

the real game is one of strategy.

Indeed, it is not so much about cars or of experience as about getting clear the underlying

concepts and attitudes. Ironically, Tata’s capture of the “small car concept” is in itself hardly

path-breaking.

One recollects that when the Maruti 800 was introduced around the mid-1980s, it was, even after
adjusting for the then stronger rupee, an immensely affordable car (well below a lakh of rupees). It
was, in fact, India's first small, sweet car. But, over time, the sweetness of Maruti 800 - rather than
the real demand for small cars - had diminished. That was primarily because of its price, which kept
15
on surging. What is certainly path-breaking is the price tag of the Nano. Even if we went all the way
back before all those price rises and income growth spread over the past two consecutive decades,
Nano's price would have still generated a landslide sales record in the mid-1980s. The price
element And, what is important is, where a pre-liberalised mid-1980s represented stunted
buying power, "today's India" that is to receive the Nano, represents greatly enlarged buying power.
This, in effect, gives the Nano an exceptional welcome thrust. Besides the element of price-point -
where Tata Motors led the pack on a wide margin - almost every other major car company in the
world seems to have otherwise just as seriously investigated small cars. If anything,
notwithstanding the environment dimension, the persistently high oil prices of
the present decade have, in fact, made all makers gravitate toward more fuel-efficient, smaller cars.
The key question, then, is: With so many auto firms zeroing in on small cars, how did Tata Motors
achieve such astounding price levels? Indeed, when global industry majors were talking about a
small car with trendy, tiny engines, they were all, in effect, attempting to scale down on what they
were traditionally good at: Medium and big cars. Two perspectives Unlike Tata Motors, almost
none of the global majors had paid due attention to the thought of an all-new small car. There is,
for sure, a big difference between scaling down a big-sized car to a viable small size. The gamut of
idea generation, concept, design, making, retailing, and so on, differs a great deal between the two
perspectives. The first perspective tweaks to fit what is already on hand, whereas the second
creates afresh to fulfill what is widely sought. Consequently, the processes that colour the making
of an inexpensive and cheerful car are not at all 'cheap'. Understandably, those processes have to
be richer in innovation, bolder in imagination, nimbler in evaluating and, of course, shrewder in
putting together the pieces (ideas, hardware, and costs) appealingly.

The stalwarts of the car industry never quite saw 'small cars' as 'small cars'. Here is where Tata
Motors strode ahead, giving Mr. Tata and his team a head-start. The Nano, then, brings home the
truth that lacking certain advantages can actually prove more rewarding. The car industry, unlike
the insurance industry, which enjoys safety cover from reinsurance, has never been able to obtain a
guaranteed cover for assured success. One could say that the future Nanos would certainly get their
shots of incremental improvement. So, too, would be the approaches of many other aspiring small-
car makers, after taking note of this primordial shift.
# Source : The Hindu Business Line — February 5th, 2008
Article 2: Tata to ride Nano to Geneva Motor Show
Tata Motors' Nano, easily the world's most talked-about car these days, will make its international
debut at the 78th Geneva Motor Show in the first week of March. The five-door hatchback that
costs just Rs 100,000 ($2,500), making it the world's cheapest, was unveiled in January this year at
the Auto Expo here. Nano would be among Tata Motors' exhibits at the show, a company
spokesperson said here. Sales of Nano, nicknamed the people's car for its affordable pricing that
will make four-wheelers available to millions of middle-class people who hitherto rode two-
wheelers, is expected to start in the second half of this year. Although the car has its share of critics,
it has undeniably put India on the global automotive map and has triggered a race among leading
car makers to match the Nano price-point. Already, car manufacturers Renault and Nissan are
eyeing a $3000 car. The Nano, which Tata Motors has said meets all safety and emission norms, will
share the limelight with top marques from around the world that are expected at the show. This
year's edition of the Geneva Motor Show will mark the 11th year of participation for Tata Motors.
Tata Motors' Nano, easily the world's most talked-about car these days, will make its international
debut at the 78th Geneva Motor Show in the first week of March. # Source :The Economic Times —
February 7th, 2008

16
Article 3: Indian people's car
India is one of those developing countries whose economies are expected to be among the world
leaders by the middle of this century. Its technological skill and financial clout have already made an
impact in the IT industry and the international cricketing arena, to take just two examples. But the
unveiling of Tata Motors' Nano car in New Delhi yesterday

The headline news is that the Nano will cost only pounds 1,300, thus opening a potentially huge
market in the developing world. But Tata has also stolen a march on giant vehicle manufacturers
such as GM, Ford, Toyota, V W, Mitsubishi and Renault-Nissan, all of which are looking to expand
sales in Asia, Africa and Latin America at a time when the European and American markets are,
respectively, flat and declining. Tata has produced a car that not only costs pounds 500 less than the
cheapest Chinese model, but also breaks technological ground by having a rear-mounted two-
cylinder engine, which both saves fuel and creates interior space. It has taken out more than 34
patents on technologies used in its manufacture. The Tata Group, the country's largest
conglomerate, epitomizes the global outreach of modern India; having acquired the Corus metals
company last year, it is now seeking to buy Jaguar Cars and Land Rover. The world's second most
populous nation presents a striking contrast between that kind of industrial clout and the poverty in
which most Indians still live. At one end of the scale are billionaires such as Vijay Mallya, who is
promoting India as a Formula 1 racing power. At the other are the inhabitants of Mumbai's
periphery who lack decent housing, education and healthcare. The Nano lies between those two
extremes: a car built to attract members of the urban middle class who at present perch on
motorcycles. That it will add to India's already acute traffic problems should remind the
government of how far it has fallen behind in infrastructure development, whether roads,
electricity or water. The Nano is a remarkable first from a country that still exasperates for its failure
to provide basic services.
# Source : As published in The Daily Telegraph, London on January 11th, 2008.

PROBLEM DEFINITION
Marketing Research Problem:
“To find out the consumer perception on TATA’S NANO in Bangalore city.”
TATA’s NANO will be launched on 23rd March 2008. There has been lot’s of excitement and
enthusiasm among the mass for the product. To find out how the common mass perceives the
product and how should TATA Motors position “NANO” it is important to conduct a research.
Objective of the Study:
 To know the consumer perception on TATA “NANO”.
 To find out the awareness level about TATA “NANO”.
 To find out the Acceptance level of people.
 To know about factors affecting purchase decision of TATA “NANO”.
 To find out the target segment for TATA NANO

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
RESEARCH DESIGN:
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Descriptive Research Method
SAMPLING PROCEDURE:
Sampling Plan: Convenient Sampling (Non-Probabilistic Sampling Method)
Sample Size: 100 respondents
QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN:
The research was done on the basis of a structured questionnaire
FIELD WORK PLAN:
100 respondents were interviewed in and around the Alliance Central campus, Anekal, FORUM
Mall, BTM Stage 1 & 2 and Kormangala areas of Bangalore. The group was divided into three groups
of 2 interviewers each who interviewed respondents at the above mentioned locations.
The respondents were interviewed from 4thMar-7th Mar 2009.
LIMITATIONS:
 The accuracy of the responses given by the respondents.
 Data was collected from the limited locations of Bangalore; therefore findings cannot be
generalized for the whole city or country.
 Language was a barrier between the interviewer and the respondents to collect the responses.

DATA COLLECTION
Data was collected from the following two sources:
PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION:
Primary Data was collected through “SURVEY” using a structured questionnaire through which the
research was able to get an insight in to the consumers mind and to learn about perception
towards “NANO”.
SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION:
Secondary Data was collected through magazines, journals, articles and earlier reports. Secondary
Data helped in finding the variables that has an effect on the perception made by the people
towards TATA Nano.

18
Company Profile

19
Tata Motors Limited (formerly TELCO) is an Indian multinational automotive
manufacturing company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India and a subsidiary of
the Tata Group. Its products include passenger cars, trucks, vans, coaches, buses and
military vehicles. It is the world's eighteenth-largest motor vehicle manufacturing company,
fourth-largest truck manufacturer and second-largest bus manufacturer by volume.[3]
Tata Motors has auto manufacturing and assembly plants in Jamshedpur, Pantnagar,
Lucknow, Sanand, Dharwad and Pune, India, and in Argentina, South Africa, Thailand and
the United Kingdom. It has research and development centres in Pune, Jamshedpur,
Lucknow and Dharwad, India, and in South Korea, Spain, and the United Kingdom. It has a
bus manufacturing joint venture with Marcopolo S.A., Tata Marcopolo, and a construction
equipment manufacturing joint venture with Hitachi, Telcon Construction Solutions.
Founded in 1945 as a manufacturer of locomotives, the company manufactured its first
commercial vehicle in 1954 in a collaboration with Daimler-Benz AG, which ended in 1969.
[4]
Tata Motors entered the passenger vehicle market in 1991 with the launch of the Tata
Sierra and in 1998 launched the first fully indigenous Indian passenger car, the Indica. Tata
Motors acquired the South Korean truck manufacturer Daewoo Commercial Vehicles
Company in 2004 and the British premium car maker Jaguar Land Rover in 2008.
Tata Motors is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, where it is a constituent of the BSE
SENSEX index, the National Stock Exchange of India and the New York Stock Exchange.
Tata Motors is ranked 314th in the 2012 Fortune Global 500 ranking of the world's biggest
corporations.[3
History
Tata entered the commercial vehicle sector in 1954 after forming a joint venture with
Daimler-Benz of Germany. After years of dominating the commercial vehicle market in
India, Tata Motors entered the passenger vehicle market in 1991 by launching the Tata
Sierra, a multi utility vehicle. After the launch of three more vehicles, Tata Estate (1992; a
station wagon design based on the earlier 'TataMobile' (1989), a light commercial vehicle),
Tata Sumo (1994; LCV) and Tata Safari (1998; India's first sports utility vehicle).
Tata launched the Indica in 1998, the first fully indigenous Indian passenger car. Although
initially criticised by auto-analysts, its excellent fuel economy, powerful engine and an
aggressive marketing strategy made it one of the best selling cars in the history of the Indian
20
automobile industry. A newer version of the car, named Indica V2, was a major
improvement over the previous version and quickly became a mass-favorite. Tata Motors
also successfully exported large quantities of the car to South Africa. The success of Indica
played a key role in the growth of Tata Motors.[5]
In 2004 Tata Motors acquired Daewoo's South Korea-based truck manufacturing unit,
Daewoo Commercial Vehicles Company, later renamed Tata Daewoo.[6]
In 2005, Tata Motors acquired a 21% controlling stake in the Spanish bus and coach
manufacturer Hispano Carrocera.[7] Tata Motors continued its market area expansion
through the introduction of new products such as buses (Starbus & Globus, jointly
developed with subsidiary Hispano Carrocera) and trucks (Novus, jointly developed with
subsidiary Tata Daewoo).
In 2006, Tata formed a joint venture with the Brazil-based Marcopolo, Tata Marcopolo Bus,
to manufacture fully built buses and coaches.[8]
In 2008, Tata Motors acquired the British car maker Jaguar Land Rover, manufacturer of the
Jaguar, Land Rover and Daimler luxury car brands, from Ford Motor Company.[9][10][11][12]
In May 2009 Tata unveiled the Tata World Truck range jointly developed with Tata Daewoo.
[13]
Debuting in South Korea, South Africa, the SAARC countries and the Middle-East by
the end of 2009.[13]
Tata acquired full ownership of Hispano Carrocera in 2009.[14]
In 2010, Tata Motors acquired an 80% stake in the Italy-based design and engineering
company Trilix for a consideration of €1.85 million. The acquisition formed part of the
company's plan to enhance its styling and design capabilities.[15]
In 2012, Tata Motors announced it will invest around 6 billion on developing Futuristic
Infantry Combat Vehicles in collaboration with DRDO.[16]
Operations
Tata Motors has vehicle assembly operations in India, the United Kingdom, South Korea,
Thailand, Spain and South Africa. It plans to establish plants in Turkey, Indonesia and
Eastern Europe.[17]
Tata Motors' principal subsidiaries include Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Daewoo and Tata
Hispano.
Tata Motors Cars
Tata Motors is among the top three in passenger vehicles in India with products in the
compact, midsize car and utility vehicle segments. [17] The company’s manufacturing base in

21
India is spread across Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Pune (Maharashtra), Lucknow (Uttar
Pradesh), Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) and Dharwad (Karnataka). The company is establishing a
new plant at Sanand (Gujarat). Tata's dealership, sales, service and spare parts network
comprises over 3500 touch points.[17]
Tata also has franchisee/joint venture assembly operations in Kenya, Bangladesh, Ukraine,
Russia and Senegal.[18] Tata has dealerships in 26 countries across 4 continents. [19] Though
Tata is present in many countries it has only managed to create a large consumer base in the
Indian Subcontinent, namely India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Tata has a
growing consumer base in Italy, Spain and South Africa.
Tata Motors has more than 250 dealerships in more than 195 cities across 27 states and 4
Union Territories of India.[20] It has the 3rd largest Sales and Service Network after Maruti
Suzuki and Hyundai.
Tata Daewoo
 Company's global plans to reduce domestic exposure. The domestic commercial
vehicle market is highly cyclical in nature and prone to fluctuations in the domestic
economy. Tata Motors has a high domestic exposure of ~94% in the MHCV segment and
~84% in the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment. Since the domestic commercial
vehicle sales of the company are at the mercy of the structural economic factors, it is
increasingly looking at the international markets. The company plans to diversify into
various markets across the world in both MHCV as well as LCV segments.
 To expand the product portfolio Tata Motors recently introduced the 25MT GVW
Tata Novus from Daewoo’s (South Korea) (TDCV) platform. Tata plans to leverage on the
strong presence of TDCV in the heavy-tonnage range and introduce products in India at an
appropriate time. This was mainly to cater to the international market and also to cater to the
domestic market where a major improvement in the Road infrastructure was done through
the National Highway Development Project.
In 2004, Tata Motors acquired Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company of South Korea. The
reasons behind the acquisition were:
Tata Daewoo is the second-largest heavy commercial vehicle manufacturer in South Korea.
Tata Motors has jointly worked with Tata Daewoo to develop trucks such as Novus and
World Truck and buses including GloBus and StarBus. In 2012, Tata will start developing a
new line to manufacture competitive and fuel efficient commercial vehicles to face the

22
competition posed by the entry of international brands like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and
Navistar into the Indian market.[
Tata Hispano
Tata Hispano Motors Carrocera, S.A. is a bus and coach cabin manufacturer based in
Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain and a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors. Tata Hispano has
plants in Zaragoza, Spain and Casablanca, Morocco. Tata Motors first acquired a 21% stake
in Hispano Carrocera SA in 2005,[7] and acquired the remaining 79% for an undisclosed sum
in 2009, making it a fully owned subsidiary, subsequently renamed Tata Hispano.
Jaguar Land Rover
Jaguar Land Rover PLC is a British premium automaker headquartered in Whitley,
Coventry, United Kingdom and has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors since
June 2008, when it was acquired from Ford Motor Company. [22] Its principal activity is the
development, manufacture and sale of Jaguar luxury and sports cars and Land Rover
premium four wheel drive vehicles. It also owns the currently dormant Daimler, Lanchester
and Rover brands.[23]
Jaguar Land Rover has two design centres and three assembly plants in the UK. Under Tata
ownership, Jaguar Land Rover has launched new vehicles including the Range Rover
Evoque, Jaguar F-Type and the fourth-generation Range Rover.
HV Transmission and HV Axles
HV Transmission (HVTL) and HV Axles (HVAL) are 100% subsidiary companies of Tata
Motors engaged in the business of manufacture of gear boxes and axles for heavy and
medium commercial vehicles, with production facilities and infrastructure based at
Jamshedpur. HVAL and HVTL have been amalgamated ton HVAL and is renamed as TML
Drivelines Ltd.
Tata Technologies
Tata Technologies Limited (TTL) provides engineering and design services to the automotive
industry. Tata Motors holds 86.91% of TTL’s share capital. TTL is based in Pune (Hinjawadi)
and operates in the United States and Europe through its wholly owned subsidiaries in
Detroit and London respectively. It also has a presence in Thailand. Tata Technologies is a
software service provider in the IT services and BPO space. Its global client list includes
Ford, General Motors, Toyota and Honda. TTL acquired the British engineering and design
services company Incat International Plc for 4 billion in August 2005. Incat specializes in
23
engineering and design services and product lifecycle management in the international
automotive, aerospace and engineering markets.
European Technical Centre
The Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC) is an automotive design, engineering
and research company based at the campus of the University of Warwick in the United
Kingdom. It was established in 2005 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors. It was
the joint developer of the World Truck.[24]
Joint ventures
Tata Marcopolo
Tata Marcopolo is a bus manufacturing joint venture between Tata Motors (51%) and the
Brazil-based Marcopolo S.A. (49%). The joint venture manufactures and assembles fully
built buses and coaches targeted at developing mass rapid transportation systems. It
utilises technology and expertise in chassis and aggregates from Tata Motors, and know-
how in processes and systems for bodybuilding and bus body design from Marcopolo. Tata
Marcopolo has launched a low-floor city bus which is widely used by Chennai, Coimbatore,
Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Lucknow, Pune, Kochi, Trivandrum and Bengaluru transport
corporations. Its manufacturing facility is based in Dharwad.
Fiat India Automobiles
Tata Motors also formed a joint venture with Fiat and gained access to Fiat’s diesel engine
technology.[25] Tata Motors sells Fiat cars in India through a 50/50 joint venture Fiat
Automobiles India Limited, and is looking to extend its relationship with Fiat and Iveco to
other segments.
Telcon Construction Solutions
Telcon Construction Solutions is a joint venture between Tata Motors and Hitachi which
manufactures excavators and other construction equipment.
Products
Commercial vehicles
 Tata Ace
 Tata Ace Zip
 Tata Super Ace
 Tata TL/Telcoline/207 DI Pickup Truck
 Tata 407 Ex and Ex2
24
 Tata 709 Ex
 Tata 809 Ex and Ex2
 Tata 909 Ex and Ex2
 Tata 1109 (Intermediate truck)
 Tata 1512 (Medium bus chassis)
 Tata 1612/1616 (Heavy bus chassis)
 Tata 1618 (Semi Low Floor bus chassis)
 Tata 1623 (Rear Engined Low Floor bus chassis)
 Tata 1518C (Medium truck)
 Tata 1613/1615 (Medium truck)
 Tata 2515/2516 (Medium truck)
 Tata Starbus (Branded Buses for city, inter city, school bus and standard passenger
transportation)
 Tata Divo (Hispano Divo; Fully built luxury coach)
 Tata CityRide (12 – 20 seater buses for intra-city use)
 Tata 3015 (Heavy truck)
 Tata 3118 (Heavy truck) (8×2)
 Tata 3516 (Heavy truck)
 Tata 4018 (Heavy truck)
 Tata 4923 (Ultra-Heavy truck) (6×4)
 Tata Novus (Heavy truck designed by Tata Daewoo)
 Tata Prima (The World Truck designed by Tata Motors and Tata Daewoo)
 Tata Prima LX (Stripped down version of Tata Prima)
 Tata Ultra (ICV Segment)
Military vehicles
 Tata LSV (Light Specialist Vehicle)
 Tata Mine Protected Vehicle (4×4)
 Tata 2 Stretcher Ambulance
 Tata 407 Troop Carrier, available in hard top, soft top, 4×4, and 4×2 versions
 Tata LPTA 713 TC (4×4)
 Tata LPT 709 E
 Tata SD 1015 TC (4×4)
 Tata LPTA 1615 TC (4×4)
25
 Tata LPTA 1621 TC (6×6)
 Tata LPTA 1615 TC (4×2)
 Tata Winger Passenger Mini Bus
 Tata Landrover 1515 F
Electric vehicles
Tata Motors has unveiled electric versions of the Tata Indica passenger car and the Tata Ace
commercial vehicle, both of which run on lithium batteries. The company has indicated that
the electric Indica would be launched locally in India in about 2010, without disclosing the
price. The vehicle would be launched in Norway in 2009.[26]
Tata Motors' UK subsidiary, Tata Motors European Technical Centre, has bought a 50.3%
holding in electric vehicle technology firm Miljøbil Grenland/Innovasjon of Norway for
US$1.93 million, which specialises in the development of innovative solutions for electric
vehicles, and plans to launch the electric Indica hatchback in Europe next year. [27][28][29] In
September 2010, Tata Motors presented four CNG–Electric Hybrid low-floored Starbuses to
the Delhi Transport Corporation, to be used during the Commonwealth games. These were
the first environmentally friendly buses to be used for public

History of Tata Nano

After having successfully launched the low cost Tata Ace truck in 2005, Tata Motors began
development of an affordable car that would appeal to the many Indians who drive
motorcycles.[4] The purchase price of this no frills auto was brought down by dispensing
with most nonessential features, reducing the amount of steel used in its construction, and
relying on low cost Indian labor, as well as a new design concept called Frugal Engineering.
[5]

“Frugal Engineering” was a term coined in 2006 by Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosen
to describe the design process behind the Tata Nano. This type of design concept was
[6]
designed to better the those at the bottom of the pyramid. However, “A Study on
Consumer Perceptions & Expectations for Tata Nano” shows that the bottom of the pyramid
[7]
is not very aware of what they are getting when purchasing a Tata Nano. While that paper
may seem to focus on the Indian contribution, the Nano was a truly international effort.
“Tata turned to Germany’s Bosch for a new engine-management system; Italy’s I.D. E. A.
Institute and Trilix for styling and exterior design; India’s Sona Koyo for lightweight
26
steering shafts; America’s Johnson Controls for the seating system; Japan’s Toyo for the
engine-cooling Germany’s Behr for the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning system;
[8]
and India’s Madras Rubber Factory for tougher than normal rear tires.” So to call it the
Indian Car is understandable, but misleading. The Nano is an excellent example of LAPD.
The "LAPD (lean principle applied product development) process is implemented with
utilization of external sources of knowledge and utilization of the digital technology that
support the product development process in order to complement the weakness of
[9]
technological capability." While the Nano is engineerd from the bottom up, the existing
economies of scale from other manufactures are not to be ignored. For the Nano, Tata
motors chose to "outsource 85% of the Nano’s components and use 60% fewer vendors than
normal to reduce transaction costs and achieve better economies of scale".[10]
The introduction of the Nano received much media attention due to its low price.
Expectations and effects
Expectations created for the car during the run up to its production may have been out of
proportion with its realized success. A 2008 study, by Indian rating agency CRISIL, thought
the Nano would expand the nation's car market by 65%, [12] but, as of late 2012, news reports
have detailed the underwhelming response of the Indian consumer to the offering; sales in
the first two fiscal years after the car's unveiling remained steady at about 70,000 units
although Tata appears intent on maintaining a capacity to produce the car in much larger
quantities, some 250,000 per year, should the need arise.[13]
It was anticipated that its 2009 debut would greatly affect the used car market, and prices
did drop 25-30% prior to the launch. [14] Sales of the Nano's nearest competitor, the Maruti
800, fell by 20% immediately following the unveiling of the Nano.[15] It is unknown if the
Nano has had a lasting effect on the prices of and demand for close substitutes, however. In
July 2012, Tata Group Chairman, Ratan Tata, said that the car has immense potential in the
developing world while admitting that early opportunities were wasted due to initial
problems.[
Singur factory pullout
Tata Motors announced in 2006 that the Nano would be manufactured in Singur, West
Bengal.[17] Local farmers soon began protesting the forced acquisition of their land the new
factory entailed.[17] Tata first delayed the Nano launch and later decided to build the car in a
different state, Gujarat, instead.

27
Gujarat Factory Controversy
The plant was moved to Gujarat after the controversy in Singur. The Gujarat plant came
under severe criticism from sections of society, due to a large amount of soft-loan offered by
the Gujarat government. The Gujarat government offered a loan of Rs. 9570 Crores, with a
meagre interest rate of 0.1% and with the loan to be paid back in 20 years. The government
also promised to build a four-lane road and give exemption on electricity duty, registration
and transfer charges of land. The government also promised to put up a waste disposal plant,
supply natural gas through a pipeline and provide 100 acres near Ahmedabad for a
township. [19]
The opposition parties alleged mass corruption in the project. The opposition is also
claiming that the project is actually heavily subsidied by the people to the tune of Rs. 60,000
[20]
per car, which is more than half of the initial offer price of the car. This subsidization
comes in many forms. The farmers who agreed to lease their land to Tata motors found out
afterward that they would not receive any compensation. The land that government sold to
the company was done so for under half of its market value. This is where the savings lie. [21]
This is just another example of a developing country (or in this case, a state), paying
incentives which are too high in the hopes of landing some investment. The conservative
estimates start at 800 million $US, which is more than Tata's investment.
Price
Announced as the least expensive production car in the world, Tata aimed for a price of one
lakh rupees, or 100,000, which was approximately $2,000 US at the time. [23] Only the very
first customers were able to purchase the car at that price, however, and, as of 2012, the
price for the basic Nano is around 150,000.[24] Increasing material costs may be to blame
for this rapid rise in price.[25]
Compared to the Volkswagen Beetle it has a relatively low price, however. In 1990, a Beetle
from Mexican factories was priced at $5,300,[26] about $9,428 in today's money. The Ford
Model T's initial price was about $850, equivalent to $21,987 today.
Cost-cutting features
The Nano's design implements many measures that make its manufacture cheap.
 The Nano's trunk is only accessible from inside the car, as the rear hatch does not
open.[28]
 One windscreen wiper instead of the usual pair (also seen earlier on certain Citroen
and Mercedes models) [11]

28
 No power steering, unnecessary due to its light weight[11]
 Three lug nuts on the wheels instead of the usual four (also seen on Smart) [29]
 Only one wing mirror[11]
 Radio or CD player is optional (the idea picked on some basic car models in North
America) [11]
 No airbags on any model [30]
 624cc rear engine has only 2 cylinders (recently implemented in new Fiat 500, with
a surcharge) [11]
 No air conditioning in base model (as on most basic car models in Europe and North
America)
Tata Nano 800
There are reports for a larger capacity Tata Nano, the car will feature an 800cc engine and
will compete with the segment topper Maruti Suzuki Alto 800. Most probably the car will
be launched by 2013-end and it will have a competitive price tag of around Rs. 2.5 lakh.
The 800 version will be the last among the three upgraded versions of Nano, while other
two Tata Nano Diesel and Nano CNG will be launched shortly.
Technical specifications
The Nano (2012) is a 38 PS (28 kW; 37 hp) car with a two-cylinder 624 cc rear engine.
The car complies with BS4 Indian emission standards and can also meet European emission
standards as well.
The development of the Nano had led to 31 Design and 37 Technology patents being filed
Radical powerplants
While the Nano is driven by a petrol engine, several more-radical powerplants have been
proposed but not put into production. Also, an upscale version was shown at an autoshow.
Compressed-air engine
Tata Motors signed an agreement in 2007 with a French firm, Motor Development
International, to produce a compressed air car Nano.[36] While the vehicle was supposed to
be able to travel approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) on $3 US of electricity to compress
the air, Tata's Vice President of Engineering Systems confirmed in late 2009 that vehicle
range continues to be a problem.

29
Diesel
A website has speculated that the Nano might be made available with a diesel engine. [38]
Tata Motors have not confirmed this but have stated: "As of now there is no Diesel variant
of the Nano. The Nano is only available in a Petrol version."
Electric vehicle
Tata has discussed the possibility of producing an electric version, [40] and while it showcased
an electric vehicle Nano at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show,[41] no such car is currently on the
market.
If an EV Nano is sold it is expected to be the "world's cheapest electric car",[42] use lithium-
ion batteries, and have a range of 80 miles (130 km).[43] A Norwegian electric car specialist,
Miljøbil Grenland AS, has been named as a supposed partner in the project.[40]
European export
An upscale Nano concept car called the Europa was shown at the 2009 Geneva Motor
Show.
Car fires
There were reports of several fire incidents involving the Nano. [45] The company denied
those were connected to the car’s design or its parts and blamed “foreign electrical
equipment” found on top of the exhaust system. [45] The company offered to retrofit the
exhaust and electrical systems but refused to recall the cars. [45] Tata extended the warranty
on the car, including those already sold, from 18 months to four years in early December
2010.
Awards
 2010 Business Standard Motoring Indian car of the year[46]
 2010 Bloomberg UTV-Autocar car of the year[47]
 2010 Edison Awards, first place in the transportation category[48]
 2010 Good Design Awards, in the category of transportation

TATA NANO: THE PEOPLES’ CAR

30
 One of the greatest strengths of NANO is its tiny price tag. The starting price is
Rs.1,00,000 which is cheaper than Maruti 800, the next cheapest car in Indian
market priced at Rs.1,84,641. Even after the road tax, service tax and the other
registration fees, NANO base model will work out to be just Rs. 1,30,000. Even its
advanced versions like NANO LX will at most cost around 1,79,000.
Segmentation for NANO market is done based on geography, rural and urban, and
on demography, family size and income. NANO is targeted at two-wheeler segments,
second-hand car segments, auto rickshaw segments, middle and lower income
segments. TATA positioned NANO in peoples’ mind as “THE PEOPLES’ CAR”, “ONE
LAKH CAR that drives ONE BILLION DREAMS” and “The World’s cheapest car”
without compromising on quality, safety and eco-friendliness.

Consumer Decision making process in buying TATA Nano.

Even though Tata Nano is the least price 4 seater car in India, it falls in the category of
complex buying behaviour.

HIGH involvement LOW involvement

SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE

FEW DIFFERANCES

FIG 1: Buying behaviour

31
To substantiate the above statement, in survey 70% people have respondent that buying
TATA NANO is as difficult as buying other cars.

Analysis of stages in complex buying behaviour.

 Need Recognition
 Information search
 Evolution of alternative
 Purchase decision
 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.

Fig2: Classification of consumer need.

Thus it is clear from the Fig 1- 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.

32
To arouse the need for Tata Nano Company should look to aim at 76% people who look for
car for safety and basic need knowing the fact that company will not be able to drag the
people who want to satisfy esteem need.

 Information Search

In this stage customer wants to find out the information about the Product, Place, Price
and point of purchase. While buying a product like car people seek information from
different sources like.

A) Personal Sources- Family, friend and neighbours.

B) Commercial sources: Advertising, sales people, dealers, display.
C) Public Sources: Mass media and consumer rating agencies
D) Experiential sources: Demonstration, examining the product.

The research shows that majority of people depend on reference group for information
while buying TATA NANO.

Fig 3: Preference of channel of information

33
Since buying Tata Nano is complex buying behaviour people seek lots of information and
clarification. Company should aim on minimizing the customer cost while seeking these
information. The company should focus more on customer testimonials and word of mouth
communication.

 Evaluation of alternative:

After collecting the information, consumers arrive at some conclusion about the product. In
this stage consumers are comparing different brands based on set parameters which he or
she thinks required in the product. This process differs from consumer to consumer and
with respect to Tata Nano some have given importance to the price and for few durability
and safety is important.

Since it is clear from the above data that majority of the people are buying the car driven
by safety need. People are considering Chevrolet spark and Maruti Alto as the alternative
car.
Even though the price of both the cars is high compare to the NANO people are considering
SPARK and ALTO as alternative of TATA Nano.
An attempt is made to understand the evaluation of alternative “Chevrolet spark and
Maruti Alto”.
Since people are motivated by safety need and Chevrolet safety positioning and 3 years
free servicing warranty is able to draw the customer attention.

 Point of difference between Maruti Alto, Chevrolet Spark and Tata Nano.
34
 TATA NANO SPARK ALTO

Price
Rs. 1,23,361 Rs. 3,23,458 Rs. 2,29,148
(Ex-Showroom)
Rs. 3,184 (for 36 Rs. 8,350 (for 36 Rs. 5,915 (for 36
month loan) month loan) month loan)
Immobilizer
Overall Length 3099 mm 3495 mm 3495 mm
Mileage (Highway) 24 km/litre 16 km/litre 18.3 km/litre
Seating Capacity 4 Person 5 Person 5 Person
Maximum Speed 105 Km/Hour 161Km/Hour 137 Km/Hour
Front Brakes 180 mm dia. drum b
Ventilated discs Disc
Rear Brakes 180 mm dia. drum
Self-Adjusting Drum Drum
brake

We can see that Tata Nano does not have immobiliser. “An immobiliser or immobilizer is an
electronic device fitted to an automobile which prevents the engine from running unless
the correct key (or other token) is present. This prevents the car from being "hot wired"
after entry has been achieved”.
The above table shows that there is a difference in the features and consumer has to pay
2915/month extra to get additional features offered by Maruti Alto, which he considers as
value for money.

 Purchase decision.

In this stage consumer buy the most preferred brand. The decision of making the particular
brand is made after consumer conviction over the alternative product.

Since research has revealed that people do not postpone the purchase of Tata Nano
because it is difficult to make the payment. Price is not the factor which is postponing the
purchase decision of the consumers. There are two factors which are making people to
postpone the purchase of Tata Nano.

35
 Lack of information:

People have complete awareness about the price and 100% people have claimed that they
are aware of the price of Tata Nano. When it comes to the features like engine capacity,
mileage, safety people have mixed response and it reveals that company has not paid
attention in communicating the features.

Company is promoting the price tagline and that is not enough to motivate the consumers
who are derived by complex buying behaviour.

 Diffusion Process:

Majority of people (70% people) adopt the innovative product when it is 1 to 2 year old in
the market. People are still waiting to watch out this car and they are postponing the
decision of buying this car.

Company should have patience in launching the marketing programme because it is just 19
months since Tata Nano is launched.

 Post purchase evaluation:

After purchasing the product consumer will experience some level of satisfaction and
dissatisfaction.

An attempt is made to measure the satisfaction level of TATA NANO users after the
purchase and the security concerns which is raised by many prospective users of TATA
Nano.

8o% Satisfied 20% Dissatisfied

36
Satisfaction:

80% of the users are satisfied with the car and they feel that they have got what was
promised by the company and they are happy to refer this car to others. Company should
make use of these happy users in word of mouth advertisement.

20% people are dissatisfied and they are dissatisfied due to interior of the car, finishing of
the car, delivery time and front view.

Safety: Safety is still the concern with the existing users and 80% of the people feel that
they feel Average safe while driving Tata Nano as big cars.20% of people feel that it is
equally safe as big cars.

8o% Average Safe 20% Equally safe Safe

The above data shows that company has to clearly work on safety point of view and has to
come up with the innovative safety measures to increase the satisfaction level.

 Role of impulse purchase in decision making process.

An impulse purchase or impulse buy is an unplanned decision to buy a product or service,

made just before a purchase .One who tends to make such purchases is referred to as an
impulse purchaser or impulse buyer. Research findings suggest that emotions and feelings
play a decisive role in purchasing, triggered by seeing the product or upon exposure to a
well crafted promotional message.

The research has shown that buying a Tata Nano falls under complex buying behaviour
despite the low price. The research has also shown that people wait for 1 to 2 year before
buying the product like Tata Nano. Consumers do not take the decision of buying a car

37
immediately and follows the pattern of decision making process very religiously thus
impulse purchase is not relevant in buying Tata Nano, however it can play an Important role
in choosing the accessories of the car. Marketer can influence the consumer in choosing
the colour and accessories.
.

 Target Audience.

Who will buy the Tata Nano? If online polls are an indication, target audience of TATA Nano
"hum-do-hamare-do families," who were the main inspiration behind the Nano. If online
polls at social networking sites are some indication, a bulk of the potential buyers for the
Nano is predominantly male. And, they will be less than 25 years. In one online poll, 39% of
the respondents felt that the average Nano buyer will be under 25 years of age while 81%
agreed that the Nano buyer will be less than 40 years.

The research has shown that company should craft and execute different strategy towards
target audience and the positioning of the car should be changed.

 Research has shown that people prefer Tata Nano as the second car, despite of their
ability to pay for the costly cars. People are postponing the purchase of Tata Nano waiting
for the first car. The target audience of the company are the people who belong to lower
middle class and lower class. Lower middle class and lower class people still purchase the
car based on esteem need to improve their social status.

38
 Fig 4.consumer preference of Tata Nano

 80% of the lower middle class and lower class people do not know driving and thus
they are comfortable riding the bike. Company should launch a marketing programme to
teach driving to the target audience. Once the target audience know the driving it will be
easier for the company to identifies anticipates and satisfies customer requirements
profitably.

 Research has shown that most of the Target audience has bike and it is not easy for
them to abandon the bike which costs half of the price of Tata nano. Company should give
them the exchange offer and offer them good resell price of bike.

 Research has shown that company has not communicated the features, safety and the
benefit to target audience and focused hugely on the price. Company should keep in the
mind the fact that apart from price consumers are looking for many other aspects while
buying a car.

 Research has shown that most of the Target audience likes the advertisement which
is informative followed by which shows the safety. Currently the company has the
advertisement which brings pride which is chosen least by the consumers. Company should
design the advertisement which combines the information and safety
.

39
 Fig5: Advertisement preference by consumers.

 The company should look beyond the current target audience and should focus on
including females in their target audience, since most of the female feel that it is compatible
and easy to drive.

 Research also revealed that there is difference in attitude between the prospects and
the current users. Current users are satisfied with the car while prospect users have many
uncertainties in mind. Company should try to minimize this gap by including the marketing
programme which focuses on the word of mouth.

 Conclusion:

The strategy should not be to sell maximum cars to target audience, however to sell
maximum car to maximum people.
Even though Nano comes with the tiny price tags it follows a complex buying behaviour
process.

40
Company has to work on the positioning of the car and provide more features which
eliminates the doubt of safety from the prospects, thus making decision making process
much simpler for the consumers. Company has to offer test drives to shorten the decision
making process of the consumers. Company has to provide the enough information to the
consumers, which is the key of decision making process.

41
TATA MOTORS PROFILE:
Tata Motors Limited is India's largest automobile company, with revenues of Rs. 32,426 crores (USD

7.2 billion) in 2006-07. It is the leader by far in commercial vehicles in each segment, and the

second largest in the passenger vehicles market with winning products in the compact, midsize car

and utility vehicle segments. The company is the world's fifth largest medium and heavy

commercial vehicle manufacturer, and the world's second largest medium and heavy bus

manufacturer.

The company's 22,000 employees are guided by the vision to be "best in the manner in which we

operate best in the products we deliver and best in our value system and ethics." Tata Motors helps

its employees realize their potential through innovative HR practices. The company's goal is to

empower and provide employees with dynamic career paths in congruence with corporate

objectives. All-round potential development and performance improvement is ensured by regular

in-house and external training.

The company has won several awards recognising its training programs. Established in 1945, Tata

Motors' presence indeed cuts across the length and breadth of India. Over 4 million Tata vehicles

ply on Indian roads, since the first rolled out in 1954. The company's manufacturing base is spread

across India - Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) in the east, Pune (Maharashtra) in the west, and in the north

in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) and Pantnagar (Uttarakhand). A new plant is being set up in Singur

(close to Kolkata in West Bengal) to manufacture the company's small car. The nation-wide

dealership, sales, services and spare parts network comprises over 2,000 touch points. The

company also has a strong auto finance operation, TML Financial Services

Limited, supporting customers to purchase Tata Motors vehicles.Tata Motors, the first company

from India's engineering sector to be listed in the New York Stock Exchange (September 2004), has

also emerged as an international automobile company. In 2004, it acquired the Daewoo

42
Commercial Vehicles Company, Korea's second largest truck maker. The rechristened Tata Daewoo

Commercial Vehicles Company has launched several new products in the Korean market, while also

exporting these products to several international markets. Today two-thirds of heavy commercial

vehicle exports out of South Korea are from Tata Daewoo. In 2005, Tata Motors acquired a 21%

stake in Hispano Carrocera, a reputed Spanish bus and coach manufacturer, with an option to

acquire the remaining stake as well. Hispano's presence is being expanded in other

In 2006, it formed a joint venture with the Brazil-based Marcopolo, a global leader in Body-building
for buses and coaches to manufacture fully-built buses and coaches for India and select
international markets. Tata Motors also entered into a joint venture in 2006 with Thonburi
Automotive Assembly Plant Company of Thailand to manufacture and market the company's pickup
vehicles in Thailand. In 2006, Tata Motors and Fiat Auto formed an industrial joint venture at
Ranjangaon (near Pune in Maharashtra, India) to produce both Fiat and Tata cars and Fiat power
trains for the Indian and overseas markets; Tata Motors already distributes and markets Fiat
branded cars in India. In 2007, Tata Motors and Fiat Auto entered into an agreement for a Tata
license to build a pick-up vehicle bearing the Fiat nameplate at Fiat Group Automobiles' Plant at
Cordoba, Argentina. The pick-up will be sold in South and Central America and select European
markets.
These linkages will further extend Tata Motors' international footprint, established through exports
since 1961. While currently about 18% of its revenues are from international business, the
company's objective is to expand its international business, both through organic and inorganic
growth routes. The company's commercial and passenger vehicles are already being marketed in
several countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia, South East Asia and South Asia. It has
assembly operations in Malaysia, Kenya, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Russia and Senegal. The foundation
of the company’s growth is a deep understanding of economic stimuli and customer needs, and the
ability to translate them into customer-desired offerings through leading edge R&D. The R&D
establishment includes a team of 1400 scientists and engineers. The company's Engineering
Research Centre was established in 1966, and has facilities in Pune, Jamshedpur and Lucknow. The
ERC has enabled pioneering technologies and products. It was Tata Motors, which developed the
first indigenously developed Light Commercial Vehicle, India's first Sports Utility Vehicle and, in
1998, the Tata Indica, India's first fully indigenous passenger car. Within two years of launch, Tata
Indica became India's largest selling car in its segment. The ERC in Pune, among whose facilities are
India's only certified crash-test facility and hemi-anechoic chamber for testing of noise and
vibration, has received several awards from the Government of India. Some of the more prominent
amongst them are the National Award for Research and Development Efforts in Industry in the
Mechanical Engineering Industries sector in 1999, the National Award for Successful
Commercialization of Indigenous Technology by an Industrial Concern in 2000, and the CSIR
Diamond Jubilee Technology Award in 2004.
The company set up the Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC) in 2005 in the UK. TMETC
is engaged in design engineering and development of products, supporting Tata Motors' skill sets.
Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company and Hispano Carrocera also have
R&D establishments at Gunsan in South Korea and Zaragoza in Spain. The pace of new product
development has quickened through an organisation-wide structured New Product Introduction

43
(NPI) process. The process with its formal structure for introducing new vehicles in the market
brings in greater discipline in project execution.
The NPI process helped Tata Motors create a new segment, in 2005, by launching the Tata Ace,
India’s first indigenously developed mini-truck. The years to come will see the introduction of
several other innovative vehicles, all rooted in emerging customer needs. Besides product
development, R&D is also focusing on environment-friendly technologies in emissions and
alternative fuels.
Through its subsidiaries, the company is engaged in engineering and automotive solutions,
construction equipment manufacturing, automotive vehicle components manufacturing and supply
chain activities, machine tools and factory automation solutions, high-precision tooling and plastic
and electronic components for automotive and computer applications, and automotive retailing
and service operations.
True to the tradition of the Tata Group, Tata Motors is committed in letter and spirit to Corporate
Social Responsibility. It is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, and is engaged in
community and social initiatives on labor and environment standards in compliance with the
principles of the Global Compact. In accordance with this, it plays an active role in community
development, serving rural communities adjacent to its manufacturing locations.
With the foundation of its rich heritage, Tata Motors today is etching a refulgent future.
Manufacturing:
Tata Motors owes its leading position in the Indian automobile industry to its strong focus on
indigenization. This focus has driven the Company to set up world-class manufacturing units
with state-of-the-art technology. Every stage of product evolution-design, development,
manufacturing, assembly and quality control, is carried out meticulously. Our manufacturing
plants are situated at Jamshedpur in the East, Pune in the West and Lucknow in the North.
Jamshedpur:
Established in1945, the Jamshedpur unit was the company's first unit and is spread over an
area of 822 acres. It consists of 4 major divisions - Truck Factory, Engine Factory, Cab & Cowl
Factories, and the Novus. Engineering Division, which has one of the most versatile tool making
facilities in the Indian sub-continent. Report: Perception towards TATA “Nano” 7

44
Lucknow:
Tata Motors Lucknow is one of the youngest production facilities among all the Tata Motors
locations and was established in 1992 to meet the demand for Commercial Vehicles in the
Indian market.
Uttarakhand
The company has set up a plant for its mini-truck, Ace, at Pant Nagar in Uttarakhand. The plant
will begin commercial production during the course of the year.
Research:
Research & Development:
Research provides the much-needed inspiration for the birth of new ideas, which in turn
breathes new life into products. World-class automotive research and development are key
factors that contribute to the leadership of the Company.
Engineering Research Centre (ERC):
The Research Centre at Jamshedpur regularly upgrades components and aggregates. A well-
equipped torture track enables rigorous and exhaustive testing of modifications before they are
used as regular fitments.
Safety (CRASH TEST FACILITY):
For Tata Motors, safety is of paramount importance. This avenue provides no room for the
slightest margin of error. Tata Motors ERC is the only high-tech facility in India to evaluate the
degree of passenger safety in the event of any high-speed impact. Through a special crash test
facility. Different types of accidents are simulated; the results analyzed, and put to use in the
development of a vehicle that satisfies stringent international safety norms. Special high-speed
cameras record test crashes at the rate of 1000 frames per second. An accident, for instance, at
the speed of 50 kilometers per hour, lasts one eighth of a second. Thus, 125 frames recorded
by these cameras are available for study with the completion of each
individual test.
Minimizing Noise (ANECHOIC CHAMBER):
Anechoic chamber is a highly sophisticated noise and vibration laboratory, the nerve centre of
which is a vast chamber lined with 88,000 cones projecting at various angles from the walls and
ceiling. It is one of its kinds in India and is developed completely with in-house facilities.
Designing and Styling (CAD CENTRE):
The CAD centre is equipped with 53 state-of-the-art CAD stations and the latest software. The
CAD centre is a vital organ of ERC's Cab Design Section. CAD designing involves development of
vehicle specifications, styling interiors and exteriors, reviewing the styling from the engineering
and aesthetic points of view, virtual prototyping to check for design acceptability and feasibility
of manufacture.

TATA NANO
45
Tata Motors' plans would produce, in real terms, by far the cheapest car ever made. An Indian car
may soon earn a parking place in history alongside Ford's Model T, Volkswagen's Beetle and the
British Motor Corp.'s Mini, all of which put a set of wheels within reach of millions of customers
after they rolled onto the scene. Tata Motors is developing a car it aims to sell for about $2,500 the
cheapest, by far ever made.
# Source :(NYSE: TTM - news - people)

Tata Nano - The little car that might change the world
TECH SPECS:
Length : 3.1 m Width : 1.5 m Height : 1.6 m To seat : 4 Engine : 643cc, 2-cylinder, all-aluminum
Power : 33 BHP Position : Engine, battery at rear end Boot : In front Fuel : Petrol Fuel injection :
MPFI Fuel consumption : 20 kmpl. AC : Only in deluxe version Passenger side mirror : No Power
steering : No Price : $2500 at dealer + VAT + transport cost. Base version
approximate on-road price: $3000 Tyres : Tubeless tyres. Body : All-steel Safety features : Crumple
zones, intrusion-resistant doors, seat belts,
2 A-Pillars Suspension : Independent front and rear
Seldom do we see cars that rewrite the history books even before they are seen running around on
the roads. And hardly ever do we see cars that vow to put the nation on four wheels. The Tata Nano
is one such car – a car that has been in the news for quite a few years, for reasons good and evil.
Nano is a car which has breathed into life due to one man. Give credit to Mr. Ratan Tata for his
determination to build a low cost family car that has come true, finally! Took long it did, but the
Nano came in a beautiful form. Touted as world’s cheapest car by a far cry, Nano has been the talk
of the town around the globe. Head honchos of big organizations have been pouring in by numbers
to have a look at this engineering masterpiece. We bring you some interesting bits.
Looks:
Length 3100mm Width 1500mm Height 1600mm Wheelbase 2230mm. Ground Clearance –
180mm
You will be wondering why I am talking about the dimensions of the Nano, since all of you know
that it is a rather compact and tiny machine. It is because I have good reason to talk about the
dimensions. You see, the Nano is going to be faced with Maruti 800 as its main rival. But you could

46
throw in the Alto and Zen Estilo to mark out some design and packaging aspects. Just to get things
in perspective, Nano is over 230mm shorter than 800 in overall length but the wheelbase
advantage of 155mm over the offering from Maruti makes sure that the Nano is more
accommodating than the 800. Tata has managed to squeeze out a 60mm advantage in width and
Maruti 800 falls short of about 100mm in height. So in essence, you get more legroom, better
shoulder room and room more than enough for a turban, if you wear one! But before you enter
inside, you are bound to gape in admiration at the beautifully crafted curves of this micro car. I
personally feel that the front has a lot of Zen Estilo written on it, but manages to look really funky
and cool.
The mono-volume design establishes a sea of change from the two-box layout of the
800. What it ensures the Nano with is extremely short overhangs and tight packaging.
For a car of this size and image, the Nano is an extremely sexy looking car with
futuristic design cues. The bonnet line is steep and unites together with the bumper in
a seamless way. Though there is no ‘grille’ per se, the front has a smiling look which
accentuates the ‘happy’ feeling. The fog lamps are incorporated in the bumper which
has a distinct air dam running across in between them. In profile, the Nano resembles
Mitsubishi’s latest small car ‘i’. The rear of the Nano is somewhat recognizable. The tail
lamps are inspired from elder sister, Indica. So this is a very compact hatchback, yes?
No my friend, you are massively wrong. Even I was dumbfounded when I discovered
that the Nano cannot be called a hatchback – a word so true to the way the small cars are. The
reason for this is because it does not have a hatch! The tail gate cannot be opened owing to it being
joined together with the boot sill. This makes accessing the engine a pain in the bottom. But a
hatchback it will be called still. The back side of the Nano is made attractive by the mid mounted
exhaust pipe which peeps out of the aggressively designed bumper.
The ultra-secret people's car for India - the Tata Nano - is here. How will this
car change the way India, and the developing countries drive?
The Nano is disruptive tech - make no mistake.
The world's car manufacturers have expressed all shades of opinion in the run-up to the Tata Nano.
Suzuki has said that it is impossible V W said it is not what they want to do. DaimlerChrysler said
they think it is an important market Tata is trying to tap.
There was no way Tata could design a car the conventional way. So went at it on a clean slate. And
seems to have pulled it off. The rear engined car will have a small boot for luggage storage in the
front. In the process of developing the Nano, Tata Motors has added 40 patents to its kitty.
This car, if it becomes a hit, will make every auto company change the way it works and look at
the volume market. Not only in India, but in entire Asia and every third world country. Offering
mobility for the masses is big business. The VW Beetle did that, and so did Henry Ford.
Environmental Impact
In India, a car like this can crowd the streets, forcing the government to improve infrastructure -
and as the evolution of the Western industrial society demonstrates, affordable cars can be a major
force for change. But till that happens, this is a car that can seriously crowd the streets - and make
life a bit tougher in the short-term.
The car will have a two-cylinder 624-cc petrol engine with 33 bhp of power.
It will also have a 30-litre fuel tank and four-speed manual gearshift. The car will come with air
conditioning in the deluxe version, but will have no power steering. I know, that's pathetic power by
American and Western standards. But Indian maximum legal speeds are way lower than them - and
Tata Motors anyway claims that the car is as fast as the Maruti 800, India's original People's Car that
changed things a couple decades back. And there are a million or more of them on the streets of
India already. The car will have front disk and rear drum brakes. The company claims mileage of 22
kmpl in city and 26 kmpl on highway.

47
The $ 2500 is the dealer price - the actual price on the road might be approx Rs. $3000.
The car launched is being avidly watched by the auto industry around the world.

SAFETY
Passes crash tests. Side impact test yet to be done, but Tata is confident about it. It has 2 A-pillars
on one side to better meet safety norms. No airbags. Airbags are still not a required feature in India.
But you have crumple zones, intrusion-resistant doors, seatbelts and anchorages.
A four wheeler is safe than a scooter. So to begin with, the huge two wheeler population of India
gains a safety benefit. But will it pass the safety requirements of a large car or even a high
technology compact? Unlikely. But that is not the objective - it is to improve the safety of four-
member families like this one that rides scooters and at risk every day.
And so here it is. If Tata Motors is right, we could be witnessing a serious disruptive force and one
that might kick-start India on to a high growth path. Successful mass market mobility does that to a
country.

Mechanicals:
Everyone, and it does not discount the motoring journos, expected the ‘One Lakh Car’ to have a
plastic body. But boy did Tata play it big there! Contrary to everyone’s belief, the Nano is a metal-
bodied car with four full-blown doors to ease the ingress and egress. This is a uni-body construction
but makes use of a sub-frame which adds to the strength in addition to providing support for drive
train and suspension units. The suspension has a story of its own altogether! Well, Tata engineers
said that since the rear-biased weight distribution led to some scary moments while testing the car,
they had to optimize the suspension setup and add a fair amount of other eccentric but equally
helpful technical add-ons like fatter rear tyre while the battery box and fuel tank are placed right
underneath front occupants.
The engine is what has been the buzz word around the car. It is an all-aluminum two cylinder
engine displacing 624cc with two valves per cylinder driven by a single overhead camshaft. The
bore and stroke are nearly similar giving it a ‘square’ form. Making the Nano move will be the
power of 33 horses which will peak out at 5500rpm while 48Nm of turning force will be supplied at
a meager 2500rpm which should help the drivability of the car. The Nano will transmit its small
amount of power via a 4-speed cable operated gearbox with the fourth being an overdriven ratio.
Tata is working on developing an automatic gearbox as well but that will not be available when the
car gets launched later this year. In addition to the 624cc petrol engine, the Indian auto giant might
also bring out a common-rail diesel engine (700cc) which might be of the same architecture as the
one seen on Tata Ace.

48
DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION
1. DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS
GENDER

Table 1.1
Male 64
Female 36
Total 100

The above mentioned chart clearly shows that out of 100 respondents 64 were males and 36 were
females.
AGE DISTRIBUTION

49
Table 1.2

yrs 64
30-50 yrs 32
Above 50 yrs 4
Total 100

The above mentioned chart clearly shows that majority of the respondents lies between the age
group of 18-50 yrs.
PROFESSION

Table 1.3

50
The above mentioned chart clearly shows that out of 100 respondents 64 were males and 36 were
females.
AGE DISTRIBUTION

Table 1.2

The above mentioned chart clearly shows that majority of the respondents lies between the age
group of 18-50 yrs.
PROFESSION

Table 1.3

51
The above mentioned chart shows that data was collected from respondents having varied types of
occupation. The majority of the respondents were pvt. sector employee and students.

INCOME GROUP

52
Table 1.4

2. FACTOR ANALYSIS
To understand the various parameters affecting the perception of the mass towards TATA Nano, the
respondents were interviewed with the help of questionnaire mentioned in the appendix having
the variables found from the secondary data. Further analysis was done through factor analysis

53
with the help of SPSS software. The goal of the factor analysis is to reduce the no. of original set of
variables to a smaller set of comprehensive factors for use in subsequent multi-variant analysis.
Therefore through the factor analysis the 13 variables that the perception of the mass can be
reduced to lesser no. of comprehensive factors that can explain the other variables. This shall
reduce the complexity. The output we get after compiling the input data is:
KMO and Bartlett's Test
Table 2.1

From this table it can be interpreted that the value of KMO is greater than 0.5, which means that
our research data is appropriate and valid. KMO value is greater than 0.5 because no. of
respondents were more than 5 times the no. of the decision variables.
Table 2.2 Total Variance Explained

Now from the above table of SPSS output the total no. of factors in which the variables can be
classified can be realized. From the Eigen values of each factor in the table, the factors having Eigen
value greater than 1, shall be considered for further analysis.
54
As in this case the Eigen value of 4 factors is more than 1, so the no. of factors shall be 4. The
percentage of variance column shows that the total variance explained by each factor. As in this
case the 1st factor explains the total variance up to 29.294 %, similarly the entire factors explains
the variable. Upto 68.826% of the variables are explained by the 4 factors. It means 31.174% are
explained by other factors which have not been taken into account.
Table 2.3 Rotated Component Matrix(a)

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
a) Rotation converged in 4 iterations.
From the above table of output we can identify the distribution of each variable in our selected
factors. Our 4 factors are as follows -
Factor1 = Design (L value = .952) + Safety (L value = .919) + Affordability (L value = .882) +
Mantainence (L value = .830) + Power (L value = .704) shall be combined together to get our 1st
major factor, we may name as “ . This factor is explaining 129.076 % of the variation.
Factor2 = Comfort (L value = .927)+ Lifestyle (L value = .898) shall be combined together to get
the 2nd major factor, we may name as “ “. This factor is explaining 16.115 % of total variation.

Factor3 = Status (L value = .924) + Accessories (L value = .930) shall be combined together to
get the 3rd major factor, which we may name as ‘ “. This factor is explaining 13.608% of total
variation.
Factor4 = Interior Space (L value = .822). This factor is explaining 10.027% of total variation.

55
3. AWARENESS OF TATA NANO
Table 3.1 (Responses over Awareness)

The above mentioned pie-chart (Graph 3.1)and table (Table 3.1) shows that majority of the
respondents were aware of the TATA’s Nano.
4. ACCEPTANCE LEVEL OF TATA’S NANO
To find out the acceptance level, the respondents were interviewed over their liking towards TATA
Nano and their Plan to buy on a likert scale. Following were the responses:
56
Table 4.1(Responses over Acceptance)

From the above mentioned chart it can be realised that liking of the respondents towards TATA
Nano is very high i.e. TATA Nano is liked by most of the respondents. But there is mixed responses
over their plan to buy TATA Nano. There were around 40 respondents who may buy TATA Nano and
there 32 respondents who may not buy. The rest 28 were neutral.
5. NAME JUSTIFIES THE PRODUCT

57
The Graph 5.1 shows that most of the respondents believe that the name “NANO” justifies the
product.

6. NANO OVER BIKE

Most of the respondent will not prefer purchasing “Bike” over Nano”.

7. FEATURE THAT INSPIRES THE MOST TO BUY NANO

58
Price is the major feature of “NANO” that inspires respondents the most.

8. COLOUR

Most of the respondents preferred yellow and red colour as their preferred colour for “NANO”.

9. RECOMMENDATION OF NANO

59
From the above mentioned graph it can be observed that most of the respondents shall
recommend “NANO” to others.

10. NANO AS “DREAM CAR”

It can be observed from the chart that majority of the respondents do not see “NANO” as their
dream car.

11. CLUSTER ANALYSIS

Cluster Analysis is performed to assign the objects into groups (called clusters) so that objects from
the same cluster are more similar to each other than objects from different clusters. Therefore in
this research, the sample of 100 respondents can be classified into certain no. of groups or clusters
showing the same attributes. This form of analysis will basically help the marketer to position their

60
product in a much effective way by targeting a certain group of individuals. Therefore it is important
for the research to find as to which cluster of people TATA Nano should be targeted. Here the
grouping variables are age, sex, profession, monthly income, family members, awareness of TATA
Nano, liking and plan to buy Nano. After running cluster analysis through SPSS software using the
above mentioned grouping variables, following output was obtained:
Agglomerative hierarchical clustering
First step for clustering shall be Agglomerative hierarchical clustering which breaks up (divisive) a
hierarchy of clusters. Therefore through hierarchical clustering an idea of the no. of clusters into
which the sample should be classified can be obtained. This is done using “Agglomeration
Schedule” mentioned in Appendix.
From this agglomeration schedule it can be observed that the no. of clusters should be 2 or 3.
The next step of classification of sample into clusters is done through K-means clustering.
K-means Clustering
After running the K-means clustering by entering the no. of clusters as 3, following output was
obtained:

CLUSTER 1:
This cluster includes 13 respondents. The major characteristics of this cluster are that most of them
are females, the age group is between 18-50yrs, the major profession is Pvt. Sector employee and
students, monthly income is above Rs. 20000, Avg. no. of family members are 6, all are aware of the
TATA’s Nano, they somewhat like TATA’s Nano but they don’t plan to buy it.
CLUSTER 2:
This cluster includes 32 respondents. The major characteristics of this cluster are that most of them
are males, the age group is between 18-30yrs, the major profession is Pvt. Sector employee and
govt. employee, average monthly income is around Rs. 10000-Rs.15000, Avg. no. of family
members are 4, all are aware of the TATA’s Nano, they somewhat like TATA’s Nano but they don’t
plan to buy it.
CLUSTER 3:
This cluster includes 55 respondents. The major characteristics of this cluster are that most of them
are males, the age group is between 18-30yrs, the major profession is Pvt. Sector employee and
students, average monthly income is above Rs. 20000, Avg. no. of family members are 4, all are
aware of the TATA’s Nano, they somewhat like TATA’s Nano but they have larger orientation towards
buying TATA Nano.

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Therefore, TATA Nano should target cluster 3 due to higher intend to purchase, family members are
4 which are suitable for TATA Nano.

Conclusion & Research Findings

 TATA Nano’s awareness level is very high (92%) i.e. most of the people are aware about Tata
Nano. This has been due to many reasons like controversy in “Singur”, first people’s car in just Rs. 1
lakh, brand name of TATA linked with NANO etc. This is a very good sign for TATA Nano to capitalize
on their public relations.
 Private Sector employees and students have higher degree of acceptance level for TATA Nano.
 The most important factors that affect the purchasing decision of the people to purchase a small
car like “NANO” are Design, Safety, Affordability, power, comfort, lifestyle, accessories status and
interior space.
 Research shows that the name “NANO” is very well accepted by the people as most of them
believe that “Nano” justifies the product.
 It was also observed in the research that majority of people shall not prefer “Nano” over “Bike” as
they believe that bike has some additional benefits over “NANO”.
 “Price” was the most important feature that shall inspire most of the people to purchase “NANO”.
As the car is available in Rs. 1 lakh only therefore most of the people believe that it is affordable to
them.
 “Blue” and “Yellow” are the most demanding color that shall be preferred by most of the people
for their “NANO”.
 It has also been found out through research that most of the people shall recommend TATA’s
Nano to other which is a very good sign for TATA Motors.
 Also, most of the respondents believe that “NANO” is not their dream car.

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Bibliography & References
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Clusterings". Journal of the American Statistical Association 78 (383): 553–584.
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http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/jan/04tatacar.htm. Retrieved on 2008-01-10.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119993102461279857.html.
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 "Deutscher Konzern verdient am Tata kräftig mit" (in German). Die Welt. 10 January 2008.
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
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ys_Mamata_fought_for_farmers_not_politics/articleshow/3456250.cms
 http://www.autoexpo.in/news_jan_23.asp

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News_by_Industry/Nano_to_rollout_from_Pantnagar/article
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 http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/01/10/nano-tata.html

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 Appendix
APPENDIX 1 QUESTIONNAIRE
SECTION – I
PERSONAL DETAILS

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