Should Tata Nano Rename Itself?

Seven months after the launch of Nano, Tata Motors is toying with the idea of letting local garage assemblers put together the world's cheapest car and also sell it under a brand of their own. The company, which is revisiting the concept of distributed manufacturing mooted by Chairman Ratan Tata when he first talked of the Rs 1 lakh car several years ago, will become the world's first to attempt such a "federal" structure of manufacturing.

Kant moots Micro-assembly sites

Tata Motors Vice-Chairman and former managing director Ravi Kant said with the new Nano plant likely to start commercial production in the last quarter of this financial year ending March 2010, the company may allow enterprising assemblers to set up micro-assembly sites across the country, with each producing some 10,000 cars a year.

Plan to hand over brand Nano

Experts, however, said handing over the branding power to small assemblers may not be easy. For one, the perceived and actual safety of a car has always been associated with the brand.

Tata Motors will have to be extra careful about safety concerns after a small number of Nanos sold in India reported technical problems last month, forcing the company to conduct a preemptive audit of the quality of cars already shipped as well as those in the inventory.

Nano facts

- 80 per cent of Nanos sold in India so far are the middle-and top-end versions (priced way above Rs 1 lakh)

- 45-50 per cent Nanos are chauffeur-driven in India

- Tata Motors holds 37 patents connected with Nano

- Assemblers from over 50 countries have shown interest in it

- During its six-and-a-half years in development, the material costs of Nano went up three times, but the car came out on the promised price