Tata nano's Sales jump

Nano leads Tata's 28% Dec sales jump

Tata Motors will focus on putting its passenger car and utility-vehicle business on the fast track in 2011-12, according to top industry sources.

December ended on a happy note with sales closer to the 20,000 units, up 28 per cent from last year's levels. While the Indica and the Indigo range sold clocked 5,923 and 5,234 units apiece, the big news was the Nano sales hitting 5,784 units.

Nano revival

The Rs 1-lakh car, as it is better known, has had a rough journey for some months now, with sales plunging to 509 units last month. However, company sources constantly maintained that this was only a blip on the horizon.

The recent slew of retail initiatives have helped the Nano's cause, but from Tata Motors' point of view, the car's potential still has not been realised in a country where the penetration levels of automobiles is barely 10 for a thousand people.

“Here's India's cheapest car that has still not reached out to its potential market yet."

The company is now gearing to put a Nano roadmap in place, which will focus on selling it aggressively in smaller towns.

This could take the form of exclusive kiosks and the like, where the car will not share the spotlight with other Tata models.

Internally, the company is believed to be of the view that the Nano can comfortably clock 10,000 units a month, going up to twice that number in 2012-13.

This optimism is based on the fact that a diesel version is due this year, which could just do the trick in boosting sales.

Tata's are primarily in the business of diesel, which is evident in the Indica and Indigo models.

"Once the 700cc diesel Nano hits the roads, it will grab the fancy of the market."

For some time now, the company has not given enough attention to its UV business and numbers fell alarmingly in the process. If December is an indication at 2,765 units, a turnaround strategy could be on the anvil.

The Sumo and the Safari have lost out to competitors over the months, but now with the Aria part of the product portfolio, Tata Motors should begin putting its house in order all over again.

“It is not the easiest of tasks for a company with such a diverse product range to ensure that all click simultaneously. However, there is a serious intent to give a fillip to cars and UVs."

The biggest comfort level is that the bread-and-butter commercial vehicle business is doing well. Likewise, Jaguar and Land Rover have been posting good numbers and contribute to nearly 60 per cent of Tata Motors' bottomline.