In a bid to push the dwindling sales of its small car Tata Nano in the Indian market, domestic auto giant Tata Motors announced on Thursday that it will offer a four years or 60,000 km manufacturing warranty with this car. Before this, the company was offering an 8-month or 24,000 km (whichever comes earlier) warranty, which was announced at the time the launch of Nano in the Indian market in March 2009. Interestingly, the company will not levy any extra amount for the new offer and the existing customers will also be included in the new offer.
Speaking on the matter, the company said in a statement that the Tata Nano model will now come with a 4-year/60,000 km (whichever is earlier) manufacturer's warranty, at no extra cost. The statement adds that besides being applicable on new deliveries, the warranty is also being extended to all existing owners of the car. Moreover, the Nano owners will now have an option of getting a ‘comprehensive maintenance contract’ at mere Rs 99 per month.
In Nov 2010, the company had posted the lowest sales figures for Nano in the Indian market since its launch in March last year. It sold mere 509 units of this car during this month as compared to the peak of 9,000 units sold in the month of July this year.
Earlier this month, the company had offered additional safety features with Nano, in order to assure the buyer on the safety aspect of the car. The new additional safety features were offered in the aftermath of a number of (at least 6) incident of Tata Nano catching fire in different cities of the country.
It may be a reasonable assumption that the increased warranty period is yet another means to reinforce customers' confidence in the Tata Nano.
Meanwhile, the company has started selling Nano off-the-shelves in 5 Indian states after inaugurating a new Nano manufacturing plant in Sanand (Gujarat), in June 2010.
