Unless you're Ferrari, random fires do not seem to help vehicle sales. At least, that's one of the reasons Tata is using to explain why sales of the dirt-cheap $2,900 nano plummeted to only 509 units in November-- down from 9,000 in July. This is mere months after the Nano was considered a status symbol in India allowing people who could normally only own a motorcycle or scooter the chance to have a roof and double the wheels.
But then they started catching fire...and India's economy is good. And there are other, good, cars available under $10,000 which are on dealer lots and don't need to be special ordered.
Tata thinks it can fix the nano, they've made changes to the exhaust and removed "foreign electrical equipment" from near the exhaust, upped the warranty from 18-months to 4-years and put in new safety features that they've yet to fully define.
( Yahoo! Finance )
brn says:
03:37 PM, 12/10/10
"dirt-cheap $2,900 nano"
It may be dirt-cheap, but the price went up 45%.
altimadude05 says:
03:53 PM, 12/10/10
"...and put in new safety features that they've yet to fully define."
Nomex fire suits.
cubbybear1 says:
10:13 PM, 12/10/10
^Naw that would cost too much. The new safety equipment consists of a fire extinguisher.
ed124c says:
08:42 AM, 12/11/10
This is a shame. More Indian people need to be pulled up into the middle class-- or at least THINK they are in the middle class, just as some Americans, with a family of four and a household income of 20K, think they are. Then again, how do we really define middle class in the US these days?
Yeah, I think a lot of us thought that a $2,900 car wasn't really going to make it in the real world (and you can't get more real than India). The inevitable price increase on the Nano will remove millions of Indians from the waiting list.
greenpony says:
10:19 AM, 12/13/10
Why is this particular Nano wearing a lei?
desmolicious says:
01:47 PM, 12/13/10
"foreign electrical equipment"
Sabotage! Must have been Pakistani electrical equipment..
agnh says:
07:14 PM, 12/14/10
Good news..... Lowest priced new car in the world.
Bad news....... All that goes with being the lowest priced new car in the world.
isend2c says:
10:03 PM, 12/19/10
I still want one as a beater car for the winter.