Competiting with Tata Nano

By abhishek at 10 January, 2008, 2:14 am

Auto manufacturers in India nowadays have become obsessed with a unique idea. No, the idea is not improve the efficiency of automobiles. Neither is it to manufacture cars that could run on alternate fuel system. The idea is to compete with the new 1 lakh rupee car that Tata is going to unveil at Auto Expo in Delhi today. The over burgeoning middle class population of India should be delighted! Every auto manufacturer is trying to put a price tag of around a lakh on the new mini car segment that is about to emerge in Indian automobile industry.

It all started when Tata Motors announced its one lakh car in the small car segment a few years ago. What is even more interesting is that they plan to call the car atom. We won’t come to know about the name till the morning of January 10 but surely the way things are going I will be not surprised if the competitors to Tata call their cars electrons or protons (even smaller than an atom).

The sprint to reach the customer has not even started and Bajaj, Ford and Maruti are already ready with their designs of mini cars. Bajaj unveiled a car in its mini segment and called it Hamara. According to a report published in Times of India yesterday that once the new mini cars hit the road, conservative industry estimates suggest that at least 10% of the seven million strong two wheeler buyers will prefer purchasing the entry level four wheeler. Well I think these auto majors have created another big out of small. According to another newspaper the small cars are going to cost the country an import bill of Rs 1040 crores per annum. Well not much of a cost for the harrowed commuter of the metropolitans of India!!!

While the auto majors are busy finding unique ways to increase the nuisance in the already congested roads of India, my not so dynamic grey cells were thinking that these Rs 1040 crores can be easily used to develop an efficient public transport system. A public transport system that is convenient for public and environment friendly. There are some non governmental organizations like Prayas and Parisar that are working on such endeavours. But how can our government work with these unglamorous brutes, they want to work for the welfare of our cities damn it! I just could wish that the governments work more closely with people who want to give commuters en excellent, convenient and reliable transport system. If they can spend it on the oil bill, they can very well spend the same money on improving the conditions of the cities. Till the time our governments adjust to such complicated calculations let us raise a toast to the endeavors of our esteemed entrepreneurs of having a dream of churning out big out of small.

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