Requiem For The Nano
What exactly went
wrong with the world’s cheapest car.
Launched as the world’s cheapest car in 2008 and with
production lines dwindling in 2018, Tata Nano counts as one of the most
enigmatic rise and fall in Indian marketing. It was launched amidst much
fanfare, and then got stuck in a morass of its own making, from which it never
managed to return. According to media reports, what began as one of the most ambitious
auto projects of modern India will only be manufactured on demand. Brand
Equity gets a clutch of CXOs from across industries to share their
first ‘Nano’ memory as well as their take on the the ‘big’ mistake.
Sunil Kataria
CEO - India & SAARC, Godrej Consumer Products
Limited (GCPL)
First impression
My first thought, when it was launched was: this is
truly a BHAG (Bold Hairy Audacious Goal) moment and hence very inspiring. When
the Nano car finally arrived after all the struggles, it was indeed a sense of
pride that an Indian company has achieved such a breakthrough.
What went wrong
The ownership of a car in India is an aspirational
life event and an indicator of social success and status. Hence the looks and
the imagery of the car are critical. Nano got slotted as the ‘cheapest car’ and
this imagery of ‘cheap’ didn’t connect to the pride of owning a car. Secondly,
Indian consumers have a penchant for ‘value for money’. They want the key
features but at a certain value. This is where Nano missed the consumer
aspiration.
Satyaki Ghosh
CEO - Domestic Textiles & Thai Acrylic Fibre,
Aditya Birla Group
First impression
My first memory of Nano is of an absolutely ‘wow’
feeling. The movement of the two-wheeler guy to a four-wheeler seemed obvious
and a winner of an idea So much so that it should work very well not just in
India but even in the other developing countries since it was essentially about
a large chunk of commuters upgrading.
What went wrong
The positioning. In India, a consumer wants to pay
less for his car but wishes to appear as having paid more. In Nano’s case it
was the reverse. While the car was pegged as a ₹1 lakh, it was soon selling at ₹1.4 lakh onwards – with an upgraded model even touching ₹1.8 lakh. Very soon it lost the
‘one lakh rupee car’ charm and started being a lesser Maruti. It became a major
psychological blunder. The other issues like a few cars catching fire or the
launch momentum getting lost in factory shifting, while important, did not turn
out to be life-threatening.
Ajay Kakar
CMO, Aditya Birla Capital
First impression
When I first heard of the Nano, I visualised the
‘smart’ car I had seen overseas. And visualised a Nano on every corner of every
street. An aspiration for mass India, that the Nano will make a reality.
What went wrong
“Who was this product for? What was the positioning
of the car? What was the proposition? Will the actual car deliver on these
parameters?” These were questions that were possibly not asked, or answered,
before taking the car to the market.
Uma Talreja
Chief Digital Officer, Raymond
First impression
The Nano made a first impression on me as a social
strategy for upliftment of masses that can’t afford cars, targeted at a segment
that was using bikes that were considered unsafe for families. It had the Tata
halo effect of doing good for society. My first thought then was about how our
public transport fails people, and private industries are trying to solve the
problem.
What went wrong
As a car, it just failed to establish itself as an
upgrade from the norm. It became a price point rather than a great car at great
value. It also missed addressing user segments with clear propositions:
families that sought good times with safety, students that wanted something
cool but at great value. It became a ₹1 lakh car instead of cool set of wheels.
Nidhi Hola
Sr. Director – Marketing, GoDaddy India
Tata Nano generated great publicity for being the
‘world’s most affordable car’ and created a lot of initial interest. Sadly, it
did not pick up the desired momentum with the targeted customer base in India.
Brands today, irrespective of their size, should strive to create a seamless
bond between the brand, the culture, content – while keeping in mind the
customer’s context. Without the customer’s context, even a great product can
fail.
By Amit Bapna
ETBE18JUL18
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