Tata plans phased launch of Nano

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Although intense opposition has cast a cloud over Tata Motors’ plans to roll out its small car Nano from Singur in West Bengal, company officials are hopeful of an October launch for the car and are fast putting in place the necessary distribution network. The car will see a phased launch and the company is busy training and providing spare parts to the dealerships for the Nano, a senior official said on Saturday here.

“We will be ready in the aftermarket for the Nano by October,” said the official, adding that the work has already begun.

To start with, the Nano will be available at select dealerships with an emphasis on smaller cities. “It will happen in a phased manner. Later, the car will be made available across dealerships,” the official said.

Industry sources, however, said the company has to first shortlist the dealerships where it plans to make the car available. It is only then that they can dispatch the parts, sources said. They added that the company might undertake central sourcing of parts from the vendors and then dispatch it from its end.

Earlier this month, the company, in a public announcement, had invited applications from prospective dealers saying that it would maximise their “opportunities, even as Tata Motors constantly expands its portfolio of passenger vehicle products and services, including the recently unveiled people’s car, the Tata Nano”.

While the applications had been invited for dealerships in Delhi and adjoining Ghaziabad, the company said a similar exercise is being carried out in other parts of the country as well - wherever the company feels there is a need for expansion. Meanwhile, Tata Motors launched its next generation all-new Indica Vista in Mumbai on Saturday. The car was earlier scheduled to be launched last fiscal. The company says it delayed the launch plan since it was not happy with the product at that time, which has undertaken some fine tuning. The new Indica project took as long as four years.

The new Indica will be available in seven variants at a starting price point of Rs 3.49 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for the 1.2L petrol Safire and going up to Rs 4.88 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for the top end 1.3L quadrajet. It will also have option of the existing 1.4L turbocharged intercooled TDi engine which is being refined further and mated to a smooth shift gearbox.