Tata Nano standard production suspended

Tata Motors manufactures the Nano at its Sanand plant in Gujarat. For now, the company has suspended production of all the non-power-steering-equipped Nano variants at the plant this includes the standard ,CX and LX variants. The carmaker will only manufacture the Nano Twist, the power-steering variant of the Nano till then. The move will be in effect till the company can clear the existing stockpile of the non-power steering variants. It is also to create a bigger market for the Twist.

A senior company official recently confirmed that Tata Motors is currently only producing the Nano Twist at the Sanand plant.  The Twist, with a price difference of less than Rs 20,000 over the LX variant, is deemed as a good value-for-money proposition and fits well with the company’s strategy to reposition the Nano as a smart city car. Dealers say that many prospective Nano buyers, especially of the LX variant, go in the Twist instead. The standard variant has been discontinued and there’s a discount of up to Rs 45,000 on the CX variant.

While the Twist is helping the Nano in its repositioning, the other variants are driving slow in the market. An industry source told our sister publication, Autocar Professional, that Tata Motors has reduced the inventory of the Nano significantly over the past year, but still has unsold stock of around 7,000 units. Going by Nano's sales of about 1,800 units a month, this translates into over three months of sale.

When contacted, a Tata Motors spokesperson said, “We cannot give a break-up on the Nano sales and inventory levels, but suffice to say that we map our inventory levels with the market dynamics”.

There are atleast a couple of new variants in the offing to strengthen the Nano's positioning as a 'smart city car'. One of them might be launched during the festive season this year.