Tata Motors Ltd. launched the first automatic transmission model of its Nano on Tuesday along with new features aimed at turning around falling sales of the micro vehicle, which made its name with a minuscule price.
The new version costs 269,000 rupees ($4,236) and 289,000 rupees at dealerships in New Delhi for the two variants on offer, the company said.
Tata Motors has revamped some of the exteriors and interiors of the Nano with features such as a Bluetooth-connected music system, fog lamps and a trunk, which, for the first time on a Nano, can be opened.
The Mumbai-based auto maker has included these additions on three other new models in the Nano range. Prices start at 199,000 rupees for the base model with manual transmission.
Only around 1% of the cars sold in India have automatic transmissions, but car makers increasingly are putting them in cheaper models, betting that more Indians want to buy cars that are easier to drive.
Tata Motors—owner of Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC—marketed the Nano as the world’s cheapest car when it was introduced in 2009. But sales have failed to meet expectations, in part because the pitch back fired: Indian consumers were reluctant to be associated with a car considered cheap. Some incidents of earlier versions of the Nano catching fire also drew skepticism from some buyers.
Sales of the Nano fell 20% in the fiscal year ended March 31 to 16,901 vehicles, according to industry data.
All models of the Nano are powered with a 624-cubic-centimeter two-cylinder gasoline engine delivering 38 horsepower.
via Tata Motors’ New Nano Automatic Costs 269,000 Rupees – India Real Time – WSJ.
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