History:

Tata engineering and locomotive co. ltd was established in 1945. In 1954, the company launched its
first automobile between 1954 & 1969. With the collaboration of Daimler Benz Tata produced trucks by
the name of TAT Mercedes Benz. By 1990’s tata entered passenger vehicle with indias first sport utility
vehicles. Tata hit the jackpot by the production of a car named Indica knwn as the indias car. In 2005 ,
tata launched indias first mini truck called the tata ace. The company had the manufacturing plants in
the Indian cities such as Jamshedpur, Pune, and lucknow and assembly operations in Malaysia, Kenya,
Bangladesh , Spain , Russia etc.

Indias automobile industry.

The automobile industry in india was benefited from liberalization in the 1990’s when govt. eased
regulations on foreign trades.

In 2005-06 , india was among the largest and fastest growing car market in the world. The passenger car
market was growing by almost 25% per year and passenger vehicle exports were growing by 12.7%
annually. Indias exports were growing at a rate approaching 30% annually.

TATA NANO Overview:

On January 10, 2008 tata motor unveiled its car called TATA NANO” the peoples car”, widely knwn as
the cheapest car in the world, Nano the two cylinder gasoline-powered version was launched. The Nano
was one of the worlds most fuel-efficient cars, getting 52 miles per gallan in city and 61 miles on
highway. Maruti was displaced by TATA Nano as it was the worlds smallest car. Nano a car which will
give a lot of people a chance to own a car.

In 2007, Indias two wheeler market was the second largest globally. A typical motor bike cost was about
40 to 50 thousand Indian rs, which is one third the cost of a Nano. Bajaj auto has always dominated the
market for passenger carrying call auto-rikshaws. After the news about TATA NANOS Launch, rikshaw
drivers had begun filing petitions through their union requesting that they should be allowed to drive
the Nano under their existing three wheeler permits, if Nano manages 10% of the two wheeler market
of about 7 million, it will have almost 50% share of the car market.

Competitive Response:

Small cars have always been popular in India. India is a growing economy and so people will buy cars.

TATA dealers response:

After tata nanos launch, the tata dealers expressed excitement about the Nanos. Almost 50% of college
going students go for a bike ,which costs around 40 to 50 thousand Indian rupees , so the students wont
worry to shell out 50000 more for a comfortable, safe and spacious journey. Another dealer cited the
car’s attractive design as a selling point. It is a great car for the middle class families.