The 2012 Tata Nano, whose sales had been gaining traction for the past few months, witnessed a decline in sales in the month of April 2012. As compared to the 10,475 units that the company sold in the last month of the previous fiscal, only 8,028 Nanos hit the Indian roads in the successive month. This represents a 23 per cent decline in sales, though it cannot be said whether the sales will pick up in the coming months or will continue to decrease. However, the top management of Tata Motors still has full faith in the model's capability to post high sales figures.
In order to maintain high volumes, Tata is working on the diesel variant of the car, which is anticipated to be unveiled in 2013. This edition of the Nano is expected to attract huge number of buyers as it will deliver mileage of more than 40 kmpl, thus making it one of the most fuel efficient passenger vehicles across the globe. Until the car is launched in India, industry experts are looking forward to the CNG Bi-fuel iteration of the Nano that was exhibited by Tata Motors at the 2012 New Delhi Auto Expo in January 2012. This variant will be targeted at urban areas and bigger cities, which have well developed infrastructure to support CNG powered cars.
Apart from these new variants, the company is also considering modifying the design of the Nano. The changes will include opeable rear boot that is usually seen in hatchbacks, along with refurbished front and rear bumper design. Though there are no indications about the time period when these alterations would be put into place, it is anticipated that the company will introduce them in the next redesigning, which is expected within a year. Tata presented a new edition of the 'World's Cheapest Car' in 2012, when it increased the power and torque of the model and integrated various comfort and convenience features without raising the price.
The Nano is already available in the international market as the manufacturer has commenced exporting it to neighbouring countries. Tata is also pondering over an assembly plant in Indonesia that could help it in increasing production volumes. In order to make Nano a financially feasible product, the company should ideally manufacture 1,50,000 units per year or 12,500 per month at its Sanand, Gujarat plant. With Tata Nano Diesel and CNG Bi-fuel in the line up, the car maker would easily be able to achieve these figures in coming times.
