NANO THE PERCEPTION.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
India is the sixth largest passenger vehicle manufacturer in the
world. With a population of over 1.2 billion people, India has a
huge market potential for automobiles. In the Indian
Automobile Industry, India has become a leading center in
producing small cars. The global auto industry is dynamically
establishing a niche as major economic engines. Millions of
aspiring Indians and the international auto markets watched in
awe, the launch of worlds cheapest car Tata Nano.
Tata Nano, launched by the $29-billion Tata group, is a believed
to be a Peoples Car. The car was launched in an auto expo
held at Delhi on 10 Jan 2008. Ratan Tata is a 70-year-old kind
and tender chairman of the Tata group, drove this worlds
cheapest car to the Tata Motors pavilion and unveiled this new
car, giving sleepless nights to rival companies.

In the year 2006, Ratan Tata of Tata Motors conceived the idea
of a tiny car at an extremely cheap price to capture the
potential of the rapidly growing middle class segment. The
outcome was the Tata Nano, the worlds cheapest car priced at
one lakh INR., fulfilling its promises of a complete car at an
affordable price for the middle class masses.
Expertise in auto industry are raising doubts to the price,
specifications, features and safety of this cheap car but Tata
promises the safety and emission standards. The car had
passed the Indian regulatory requirements, frontal crash test
and the Euro-IV emission norms. It is also tested for front, rear
and side collisions.
The Tata Nano was welcomed at its launch - the first instance
where a launch with zero cost of advertising met with huge
success. But ever since then, it has been a downhill path for the
product. What was the root cause of such a failure? How did the

marketing strategy adopted by the company change

perceptions about the car and affect the sales performance?
What could the Tatas have done differently to avert the failure
of the Tata Nano? What resurrection efforts can the Tatas take
to capture the potential in the rapidly growing small car
segment in the coming years using the Tata Nano? Through our
analysis in this project, we will attempt to throw some light on
these issues and possible solutions to these problems.

ABSTRACT
The key success of automobile industry lies not only in having
good designed vehicle but also being able to provide customers
and organisation it depends on many factors and varies from
person to person and product to product. If customers
expectation meet with the perceived value of goods and
services is less than the customers expectation then the
customer is dissatisfied and if the perceived value of the goods
and services then the customer is delighted measuring
customers satisfaction provides an indication of how successful
the org is at providing products and services to the
marketplace.
This study lays emphasis on customer satisfaction towards TATA
NANO.

INTRODUCTION

AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY IN INDIA

In the fast moving world with the biggest countries with huge
economies India has managed to be the eleventh in the world
for annual production of 2 million units approximately. This
sector in India is growing at a very fast rate and it has crossed
China in terms of selling the Units. In the matter of population
India is the second largest country in the world with a
population of 1.1 billion. In this respect it is just next to China.
But it has a very small land mass as compared to China. India
has become an attraction for car manufacturers around the
Globe as a graph of its ownership of car i.e. 7 per 1000 people.
Automobile industry in India comprises of 13 million direct and
indirect employees. It contributes 3.1% of Indias GDP
(nominal) and the valuation of the industry is about US$ 34
billion. India's motorcycle market with an annual sale of 5
million units is the second largest around the globe. India has
Fourth largest commercial vehicle market, Eleventh largest
passenger car market, Fifth largest bus & truck market (by
volume) around the globe. With this growing pace India by
2016 is expected to be the seventh largest automobile market
and by 2030 worlds 3rd largest behind US & China. Late 1890s
is the time when Automobile was introduced in India but it
came into existence only after the independence in 1947. Until
1980s Hindustan Motors and some small manufacturers
Premier Automobiles, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Ashok and
Standard Motors held an oligopoly till the time when

MarutiUdyog Suzuki came into existance after the death of the

great Indian politician Sanjay Gandhi who championed the need
for a "people's car". It quickly gained over 50% of the market
share. The Maruti800 became popular because of its low price,
high fuel efficiency, reliability and modern features relative to
its competition at the time.
From the decades in the Indian automotive industry there were
only few vehicle models but then also there is a good lead time
to get a car after the booking. So with changing economy,
competition, and urge to grow big we are here with more than
100 Models and every moth with a new model to offer. Keeping
in mind the comfort of the people and their choice the models
are prepared. Performance of vehicle is increasing day by day,
its fuel efficiency and reliability has no match with others
around the globe. Inspite of having manufacturing of major
foreign automakers based in India our Indian Domestic
Automobile Companies are leading in the Market.
Tata Motors is the largest commercial vehicle company, Maruti
Suzuki is the largest passenger vehicle company & Hero Honda
is the largest motorcycle company in India. Mahindra &
Mahindra, Ashok Leyland and Bajaj Auto are some more leading
automobile manufacturers.

Automobile Domestic Sales Trends (Number of Vehicles)

Category 2011-12 2013-14 % change
Passenger Car 882208

1076408 22.01

Total Passanger Vehicles 1143076 1379698 20.7

Total Commercial Vehicles
Three wheelers359920

35041

403909

467882

12.22

Total Two Wheelers 7052391 7857548 11.41

Grand Total

8906428 1010903713.5

33.28

. MarutiUdyog Ltd, the biggest car maker of the country,

selling 2, 93,536 vehicles as against 2,43,211 in the
corresponding year last year. having a growth rate of about
20.7 per cent during April-August,2009
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd's (M&M) cumulative sales with
exports were 1,06,094 units compared to 78,144 units in the
corresponding period last fiscal during the April-September
having a growth rate of about 35.8 per cent
Honda Siel Cars India Ltd. (HSCI), leading manufacturer of
premium cars in India, selling 41,638 units against 35,853
units. having a growth of 16.1 % in cumulative sales for the
period January to August, 2009.
DaimlerChrysler sold 1,681 units in India from January to
August, growth of over 22 per cent from a year ago.
Car-maker General Motors India (GM), totally owned
subsidiary of General Motors Corporation, reported a 114 %
increase in domestic sales during August at 5,817 units against
2,720 units in the same month last year.

 Hero Honda crossed the 2 million unit sales mark during the
Jan-Aug period.
Motorbike exports from India have grown to 3 to 21 to 321
units in the April- August period this fiscal from 2 to 37 to 103
units in the same period last year

Under Rs.3 lakhs

Reva

Nano

Rs. 3-5 lakhs

Fiat

Hundaisantro

Cheverolet

Marutizen

Maruti 800. Alto, Omni

Ambassador

Ford icon

Tata indica

Rs. 10 lakhs

Tavera

Hyundai accent

Scorpio

Marutibaleno

Toyota innova

Tata safari

Mitsuibish lacer

Totoyainnova

Tata safari

Rs.10 15 lakhs

Toyota corolla

Ford mondeo
Chevrolet forester
Skoda octivia
Honda civic

Rs. 15 30 lakhs

Honda CR V

Maruti Suzuki grand vitara

Audi A5
Opel Vectra
Honda accord
Mercedes C class
Toyota camry

List of automobile manufacturers in India

Indian companies
Force Motors
Force Motors was formerly known as Bajaj Tempo Ltd. Founded
in 1958, it is located in Akurdi, a Pimpri-Chinchwad
neighbourhood of Pune, India. They manufacture three
wheelers, multi utility and cross country vehicles, light
commercial vehicles, tractors and now heavy commercial
vehicles.
Gama, Cruiser
Trax, Toofan, Challenger

Ashok Leyland
Ashok Leyland is a commercial vehicle manufacturing
company based in Chennai, India. In 1948, Ashok Motors was
set up in what was then Madras, for the assembly of Austin
Cars. The Company's destiny and name changed soon with
equity participation by British Leyland and Ashok Leyland
commenced manufacture of commercial vehicles in 1955. For
over five decades, Ashok Leyland has been the technology
leader in India's commercial vehicle industry, moulding the
country's commercial vehicle profile by introducing
technologies and product ideas that have gone on to become
industry norms. Ashok Leyland has six manufacturing plants the mother plant at Ennore near Chennai, two plants at Hosur
(called Hosur I and Hosur II, along with a Press shop), the
assembly plants at Alwar and Bhandara. From 18 seater to 82
seater double-decker buses, from 7.5 tonne to 49 tonne in
haulage vehicles, from numerous special application vehicles to

diesel engines for industrial, marine and genset applications,

Ashok Leyland offers a wide range of products.

Hindustan Motors
Hindustan Ambassador Hindustan Motors is one of the oldest
Indian car manufacturers. It is best known for the Ambassador
which has been virtually unchanged for about 30 years. It is still
very popular as a taxi and is widely used by Indian politicians.
Many people have come to associate India with Ambassador
and is a prominent part of the Indian landscape
. Trekker (Discontinued)
Landmaster (Discontinued)
Contessa (Discontinued) - 5th Generation Vauxhall Victor
Ambassador - a version of the 1950s Morris Oxford

Mahindra & Mahindra Limited

Mahindra Classic The automotive section of Mahindra started
off when a first batch of seventy five Utility Vehicles (UVs) was
imported in CKD condition from Willys in 1947. It has come a
long way, not just manufacturing Jeeps but also agricultural
equipment and light trucks.
Armada (Discontinued)
Voyager Discontinued)
Bolero
Commander
CL
Scorpio

 Mahindra and Mahindra Classic. This was an open jeep with

good off roading capabilities, a 4*4 and 4*2 option, huge
headlamps and roof mounted lights

Maruti Suzuki

Maruti 800
Maruti Gypsy
MarutiUdyog was formed as a partnership between the
Government of India and Suzuki of Japan. It brought India its
first "affordable" car, the Maruti 800. It is the biggest car
manufacturer in India and especially dominant in the small car
sector. Then it brought out The Maruti 1000, made by
MarutiUdyog was the first ever contemporary sedan-type car
launched in India. The car (which Suzuki sold in other countries
as the Cultus/Swift/Geo Metro with a 1.3 L or 1.6 L engine) was
introduced in October, 1990. Sold at Rs. 3.81 lakh, it was back
then the costliest car released in the Indian market. Then the
company replaced it with Esteem and from that days on a line
of Suzuki cars rolled out in the Indian market.
800 Omni
1000 (Discontinued)
Maruti Zen (Discontinued, but revived and re-branded as the
Zen Estilo)
Alto
Esteem(Discontinued)
Baleno - (Discontinued)

 BalenoAltutra - (Discontinued)
Gypsy
Swift
SX4
WagonR
Versa
Zen Estilo - First Generation Suzuki MR Wagon
Grand Vitara - First Generation Suzuki Grand Vitara
Eigo

Multi-national companies

BMW

BMW is manufacturer of prestigious sport sedans that are

known for their nimble handling. BMW enjoys good brand
recognition in India, thanks to Indian movies and the rich who
have been importing these cars for decades. It has set up a
plant in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, to manufacture cars locally
exclusively for the local market with no plans for export. It set
up the plant to circumvent high import duties.
3 Series
5 Series
7 Series

Fiat
Fiat India has struggled in India since its inception. The Fiat
Uno was one of the first products to be introduced. The Fiat
Palio was later introduced and was initially a big hit with its
style and ride comfort coupled with solid build but has slowly
lost its sheen due to low fuel efficiency. Other models were
introduced such as the Palio Weekend and Siena. Fiat tried rebranding of the Fiat Siena to Fiat Petra without much success. It
roped in Sachin Tendulkar as one of its brand ambassadors.
Even Michael Schumacher appeared in an ad for the Palio. It
has entered now into an alliance with Tata Motors to jointly
manufacture cars at its plant in Ranjangaon, near Pune. The
facility will enable the two companies to make about 200,000
cars per annum, and also house an engine manufacturing unit
with a capacity of 250,000 units per annum. The alliance will
also see
Tata Motors use Fiat's diesel technology - the 1.3 litre multijet
diesel engine - for its own vehicles. The two companies also
have a distribution and service partnership.
Uno(Discontinued)
Palio
Palio Stile
Siena(Discontinued
) Siena Weekend (Discontinued)
Petra(Discontinued)
Adventure
Punto
Linea

Ford Motors
Ford entered India in collaboration with Mahindra & Mahindra in
1995 with a major plant in Tamil Nadu. The first model was the
Escort.
Escort (Discontinued) - It was offered with a 1.3Liter petrol
termed Alpha and 1.5 Liter Diesel engine termed Orion, and at
a time when the car wars in India had just begun. The diesel
version was fancied by many due to the fact that diesel was
available at half the price of petrol(gasoline/gas) in India at that
time. Among the famous owners of the Ford Escort was
AzimPremji who drove a black one for almost eight years until
he traded it for a Toyota Corolla. The Ford Escort 1.8 was ranked
the highest in the J.D. Power and Associates 1997 Indian
Customer Satisfaction Study. It was also voted the Best Quality
Car in the J.D. Power India Initial Quality Study.
Ikon - Was launched to phase out the Escort, known for the
Rocam engine, available with a choice of petrol and diesel
version, the car did well. Ford is known for launching new
versions with some minor cosmetic changes every now and
then.
Mondeo (Discontinued) - Was Ford's offering to the D
segment in India in 2001, was brought in as a CBU from
Belgium with Ghia being the only trim version available. It was
available with both 2.0L Duratorq diesel and 142 bhp 2.0L
petrol
Duratec engines. It was the first car to be offered with Xenon
HID headlamps in India. It is alleged that the Mondeo
performed better than the 2.3 L Accord available in India at that
time. But buyers stayed away as it was more expensive than
the Accord. The diesel version was phased out in 2003
. Endeavour - Sold as the Ford Everest in other parts of Asia
and based on the Ranger pickup, it was offered in both 4X4 and
4X2 options but with only a 2.5 L, 4 Cylinder In-line,

Turbocharged & Inter cooled Diesel Engine and manual

transmission
. Fusion - was launched as an Urban Activity Vehicle available
with a 1.6 L , 4 cyl 101 bhp (75 kW/102 PS) engine with 5 speed
manual transmission. In 2007 a diesel version was launched
which has the same 1.4 L 68 bhp(51 kW/69 PS) engine as the
Fiesta.
Fiesta - Launched in November 2005 and was Ford's fifth
model in India, and is available in 1.6 L petrol and 1.4 L diesel
engines. Bill Ford made a personal visit to launch the car in
India.

General Motors
Chevrolet has been one of the most recognized brands in India
for several decades. They were made popular as the vehicle of
choice of the heroes in Bollywood movies. The model lineup
consists of vehicles from cheaper sister brands like Daewoo.
General Motors initially entered India with the Opel brand, but
the Opel brand was dropped in March 2006 because sales were
at an all time low due to high prices and General Motors wanted
to focus more on their Chevrolet brand. Since the Chevrolet
brand was introduced in India, there have been no new Opel
products. GM's Indian operations were originally a JV between
Hindustan Motors and GM, with most of GM's vehicles
assembled at Hindustan's plant in Halol, Gujarat. Since then,
GM India is now wholly owned by GM. Cars from Chevrolet are
: Tavera - Rebadged Isuzu Panther
Forester - (Discontinued) Rebadged First Generation Subaru
Foreste
r Aveo - Second Generation Daewoo Kalos sedan
Aveo UV-A - First Generation Daewoo Kalos hatchback
Optra - Rebadged Daewoo Lacetti

 SRV - Rebadged Daewoo Lacetti

Spark - Formerly Daewoo Matiz in India
Cruze
Captiva

Honda
Honda Siel Cars entered India in 1995. It sells 4 cars in India the City, Civic, Accord, and CR-V. The manufacturing plant of
Honda Siel is located in Greater Noida. The model of Accord
sold in India is the 2003 model. The most inexpensive car from
Honda - The City.The most Expensive - The Honda Accord V6.
Accord - It was introduced in India in July 2001. It is sold in
three versions - Accord VTi-L M/T, Accord VTi-L A/T and Accord
V6 A/T. Both the engines, the standard i-4 and V-6 have be detuned which produce less power compared to the American
models, the I-4 produces 142 bhp (106 kW/144 PS) while the V6
produces 221 bhp (165 kW/224 PS), de-tuned for better fuel
efficiency.
City - Was launched in India in December 1997 ,initially
offered in two options. A 1.3 liter engine producing 90 bhp(67
kW/91 PS) and a bigger 1.5 liter producing 100 bhp (75 kW/101
PS). Two years later a VTEC option was also offered. All were
four cylinder engines. In October 2003 the City underwent a
major revamp and is popularly called as New Honda City (NHC).
Surprisingly Honda gave the new City less powerful engines
and decided to improve the fuel efficiency. The new City
features a 1.5 liter engine producing 77 bhp(57 kW/78 PS). It
offered more interior space and with bright and refreshing
interiors. About two years later, a face lifted version - CITY ZX was introduced. At the same time, a VTEC engine model too
was introduced. Civic - Was launched in July 2006 in India 6

months after the international debut. The car is the first in this
segment in India to offer unprecedented safety features like
ABS, EBD as standard. It is also the first in its class to feature
reverse swing windshield wipers. The only problem with the car
with respect to India is its low ground clearance
. CR-V - It was introduced in India along with the Accord. It
was and is still offered with a 2.4 liter i-VTEC engine producing
152 bhp(113 kW/154 PS).

Hyundai

When Hyundai entered India, the brand was virtually unknown

in the Indian market. They signed up Bollywood actor Shah
Rukh Khan and their excellent advertising campaign made
Hyundai a household name and helped it reach the second
place behind market leader Maruti Suzuki. Santro - second
generation Hyundai Atos
Accent - second generation Hyundai Accent sedan
Sonata - sold as the Sonata Embera
Verna - third generation Hyundai Accent sedan
Getz - sold as the Getz Prime
Elantra - 3rd generation Hyundai Elantra sedan
Terracan (discontinued)
Tucson
i10 - brand new small car, global launch in India in 2007.

 I20

Renault-Nissan

Logan In partnership with Mahindra and Mahindra

Mercedes-Benz
M-Class
S-Class
E-Class
C-Class
Mercedes-Benz has had to cater to the ever growning luxury
segment in India, in a much better fashion now, especially after
the arrival of the other luxury German manufacturers.
Now, Mercedes-Benz cars are launched in India soon after the
worldwide launch and homologation as opposed to earlier,
when Mercedes-Benz had monopolized the niche Indian market.

Mitsubishi Motors
Lancer - Sixth Generation Mitsubishi Lancer
Cedia - Seventh Generation Mitsubishi Lancer
Pajero - Second Generation Mitsubishi Pajero
Montero - Third Generation Mitsubishi Pajero

koda

koda is an important car manufacturer of India. It recently

launched the Laura, the Octavia still continues to exist. Skoda
also offers the Superb in India but it's not too popular
. Octavia
Superb
Laura
Fabia

Toyota
Toyota Kirloskar sells 4 car models in India. It stopped
producing the Toyota Qualis to make way for the Toyota Innova,
which was launched in India in 2005. The most expensive car
from Toyota is a very powerful SUV - The Land Cruiser Prado.
Toyota Kirloskar Motors LTD is a joint venture between Toyota
Motor Corporation and the Kirloskar Group.
Qualis (Discontinued) - 3rd Generation Toyota Kijang
Camry - 6th Generation Toyota Camry
Corolla - 9th Generation Toyota Corolla
Innova
Land Cruiser Prado - 3rd Generation Toyota Prado

COMPANY PROFILE
Dream- dream and dream, because dream gives vision,
vision gives thoughts and finally thoughts lead to the action.
Each letter of these motivational words said by India's former
President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam goes exactly with Mr.Ratan Tata,
Chairman of Tata group, who in the year 2003, dreamt of
producing a safe, affordable Car for the common man. Finally
after the wait of five years, crossing all financial and
technological barrier. Ratan Tata kept his promise and unveiled
Tata 'Nano' on 10th January 2007, at the 9th Auto Expo 2008 in
New Delhi. Tata Nano, cool & smart, launched by Tata Motors is
world's cheapest Car with a price tag of 100000 INR.
Tata Motors Limited (formerly TELCO, short for Tata Engineering
and Locomotive Company) is an Indian multinational
automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Mumbai,
Maharashtra, India and a subsidiary of the Tata Group. Its
products include passenger cars, trucks, vans, coaches, buses,
construction equipment and military vehicles. It is the world's
sixteenth-largest motor vehicle manufacturing company,
fourth-largest truck manufacturer and second-largest bus
manufacturer by volume. Founded in 1945 as a manufacturer of
locomotives, the company manufactured its first commercial
vehicle in 1954 in collaboration with Daimler-Benz AG, which
ended in 1969. Tata Motors has auto manufacturing and
assembly plants in Jamshedpur, Pantnagar, Lucknow, Sanand,
Dharwad and Pune in India, as well as in Argentina, South
Africa, Thailand and the United Kingdom. It has research and
development centres in Pune, Jamshedpur, Lucknow and
Dharwad, India, and in South Korea, Spain, and the United
Kingdom. Tata Motors' principal subsidiaries include the British
premium car maker Jaguar Land Rover (the maker of Jaguar,
Land Rover and Range Rover cars) and the South Korean
commercial vehicle manufactuer Tata Daewoo. Tata Motors has
a bus manufacturing joint venture with Marcopolo S.A. (Tata
Marcopolo), a construction equipment manufacturing joint

venture with Hitachi (Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery) and

a joint venture with Fiat which manufactures automotive
components and Fiat and Tata branded vehicles. Tata Motors
entered the passenger vehicle market in 1991 with the launch
of the Tata Sierra, becoming the first Indian manufacturer to
achieve the capability of developing a competitive indigenous
automobile. In 1998 Tata launched the first fully indigenous
Indian passenger car, the Indica, and in 2008 launched the Tata
Nano, the world's cheapest car.
PRODUCT PROFILE

PARAMETERS
Total investment
engine
Design
Fuel efficiency
Top speed
Gear box
Length
Inner space
Safety
Emission

STATISTICS
INR 1700 crore
624cc, 34 bhp rear mounted
Four door monocoque
20 kpl
105 kmph
Four speed manual
8 percent smaller than
maruri800
21 percent larger than maruti
800
Survived frontal crash at 48
kmph
Bharat III and eiro IV complaint

Description about Nano

The project has literally become India's claim-for-fame in

the international-media due to Tata Motors' innovation in
developing the car, as well as keeping it low in price.

The car itself is expected to boost the Indian Economy,

create entrepreneurial-opportunities across India, as well as
expand the Indian car market by 65%.


The car was envisioned by renowned industrialist, Ratan
Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group and Tata Motors, who has
described it as an eco-friendly

Nano has been greatly appreciated by many sources and

the media for its low-cost and eco-friendly initiatives which
include using compressed-air as fuel and an electric-version.

Tata Group is expected to mass-manufacture the Nano in

very large quantities, particularly the electric-version, and,
besides selling them in India, to also export them world-wide.

The tall roof and generous green-house area enhances the

sense of space.

"One-box" architecture means a smaller traditional

bonnet. No need for the grille too since there is no engine up
front to cool.

The Xmas tree tail lamps link the Nano to the rest of the
Tata passenger car family.

Rear-view mirror on one side. Precious rupees saved.

The 623 cc engine features a Bosch developed fuel

injection system and is good for 20 kpl.

Alloy wheels shown only on the top-end version. Expect

cheaper, pressed-steel wheels as standard issue.

A large speedometer, fuel gauge and digital odometer

make up the instrumentation. Curiously, none of the cars
displayed featured rear seat-belts.

What is common to Ferrari and Tata Nano? The air-intakes

on the flanks are necessary for cooling the rear engine.

Proper independent suspension all-round. Ground

clearance looks good even on 12-inch tyres.

The interior features 20% more room than the Maruti 800
thanks to the additional room liberated.


At 3.1 metres long and 1.65 metres wide, the Nano has a
footprint that is only 80 per cent that of a Maruti 800.

The twin-pillar treatment ensures that despite the small

frontal area, the cabin of the car can withstand impact in the
event of a crash.

A curved windscreen is expensive to produce - a hint that

the car was not conceived to a price, design too was an equally
important criterion.

While the car has already been subjected to front-on

crash-worthiness tests, it is yet to go for off-set and side-on
crashworthiness tests, expected later this year.

The front seats have head restraints built into the seat to
save money and reduce complexity. The rear bench seat can
seat two adults and a kid comfortably.

WHAT MAKES TATA NANO SO GLOBAL?

DESIGN:The peoples car, designed with a family in mind, has a roomy
passenger compartment with generous leg space and head
room. It can comfortably seat four persons. Four doors with
high seating position make ingress and egress easy.
ENGINE:-

Unlike other low cost Indian cars, this one is going to have a
variomatic gear system. Instead of manual gear box in
conventional cars it is coming up as gear less or rather with an
automatic gear transmission. This helps to improve the
efficiency and mileage by magnifying the torque output.
FUEL EFFICIENCY:-

The peoples car has a rear-wheel drive, all aluminium, two

cylinder, 623 cc,33 PS, multi point fuel injection petrol engine.
This is the first time that a two cylinder gasoline engine is being
used in a car with single balancer shaft.
SAFETY AND COMFORT:-By adhering to the fact that less weight
requires less power,the one lakh car is made of light weighing
steel.This has made Tatas come up with the cheap alternative
without compromising on safety and performance.
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Consumer buying behavior is the decision process in which

consumers or buyers of goods tend to react while purchasing
the product of their choice. It refers to the final purchase of the
ultimate customer. The buying behavior of passenger cars are
based on major cluster of factors inclusive of social,
economical, cultural, and psychological needs. Along with
buying behavior another variable ,customers perception on
deciding factors like price, income distribution, and utility,
culture, family size etc take major role in decision of choosing a
product to buy or not to buy.
The viable nature among the automobile players has initiated
the major companies in the industry to take up unique
strategies to fight competition among them. Among the
categories of the car segments, B Segment sees the maximum
competition because it offers the consumers a wide range of
models to choose from. The major companies see to that they
provide quite a range of vehicles in all segments of the vehicle
categories so that the end user ends up in using in any one of
their vehicle. To support the push of sales advertisements play
a major role in providing a choice medium, a reachable one for
the consumers. The flamboyance of the cars can be appealed
through the Television medium and closely by the print and of
late the online medium. Both the mediums have their own
uniqueness in reaching the audience in marketing a product. In

addition to this celebrity endorsements and testimonial

advertisements have come long way and they are also
contributing to some extent to sell their cars. The Indian
Automotive Industry after de-licensing in July 1991 has grown
at a spectacular rate on an average of 17% for last few years.
The industry has attained a turnover of USD $35.8 billion, (INR
165,000 crores) and an investment of USD 10.9 billion. The
industry has provided direct and indirect employment to 13.1
million people. Automobile industry is currently contributing
about 5% of the total GDP of India. India's current GDP is about
$1.4 trillion and is expected to grow to $3.75 trillion by 2020.

Consumer decision making process in buying TATA NANO

Even through TATA NANO is the least price 4 seatercar in India,
it falls in the category of complex buying behaviour.

LOW

HIGH

SIGNIFICANT

FEW

Complex
buying
behaviour

Variety
seeking
buying
behaviour

Dissonanc
e
reducing
buying
behaviour

Habitual
buying
behaviour

BUYING BEHAVIOUR

To substantiate the above statement, in survey 70% people

have respondent that buying TATA NANO is as difficult as
buying other cars.

Analysis of stages in complex buying behaviour

Need Recognition

Information search

. Evolution of alternative

Purchase decision

Post purchase evaluation.

. Need Recognition.

Need for Tata Nano can be driven either by internal stimuli

(Desire/attitude/perception) or external stimuli advertising etc.

Classification of consumer needs

SAFTEY
NEED
ESTEEM

An attempt is made to understand the need recognition process

based on Maslows theory Classification of consumer need
Thus it is clear from the Fig 1- 68% people buy the car driven
by safety need. 24% buy a car driven by esteem need. 8%
people buy a car driven by basic need. To arouse the need for
Tata Nano Company should look to aim at 76% people who look
for car for safety and basic need knowing the fact that
company will not be able to drag the people who want to satisfy
esteem need.

Information Search
In this stage customer wants to find out the information about
the Product, Place, Price and point of purchase. While buying a
product like car people seek information from different sources
like.<

Personal Sources- Family, friend and neighbours.

Commercial sources: Advertising, sales people, dealers,

display.

Public Sources: Mass media and consumer rating agencies

Experiential sources: Demonstration, examining the

product.

The research shows that majority of people depend on

reference group for information while buying TATA NANO

Preference of channel of information

TV
Refrence group
magzine

Since buying Tata Nano is complex buying behaviour people

seek lots of information and clarification. Company should aim
on minimizing the customer cost while seeking these
information. The company should focus more on customer
testimonials and word of mouth communication.
Evaluation of alternative:
After collecting the information, consumers arrive at some
conclusion about the product. In this stage consumers are
comparing different brands based on set parameters which he
or she thinks required in the product. This process differs from
consumer to consumer and with respect to Tata Nano some
have given importance to the price and for few durability and
safety is important.
Since it is clear from the above data that majority of the people
are buying the car driven by safety need. People are
considering Chevrolet spark and Maruti Alto as the alternative
car.Even though the price of both the cars is high compare to
the NANO people are considering SPARK and ALTO as
alternative of TATA Nano.
An attempt is made to understand the evaluation of alternative
Chevrolet spark and MarutiAlto.Since people are motivated by
safety need and Chevrolet safety positioning and 3 years free
servicing warranty is able to draw the customer attention.

Price
(ex
showroom)
Immobilizer
Overall length
Mileage
(highway)
Seating
capacity
Maximum
speed
Front brakes
Rear brakes

Rs. 123361

Rs. 323458

Rs. 229148

No
3099 mm
24km/litre

Yes
3495 mm
16km/litre

Yes
3495 mm
18.3km/litre

4 person

5 person

5 person

105km/ hour

161 km/ hour

137 km/ hour

180mm dia.
Drumb
180 mm dia
drum brake

Ventilated disc
Disc drum
Self-adjusting
drum

We can see that Tata Nano does not have immobiliser. An

immobiliser or immobilizer is an electronic device fitted to an
automobile which prevents the engine from running unless the
correct key (or other token) is present. This prevents the car
from being "hot wired" after entry has been achieved.The
above table shows that there is a difference in the features and
consumer has to pay 2915/month extra to get additional
features offered by Maruti Alto, which he considers as value for
money.
Purchase decision.
In this stage consumer buy the most preferred brand. The
decision of making the particular brand is made after consumer
conviction over the alternative product.
Since research has revealed that people do not postpone the
purchase of Tata Nano because it is difficult to make the
payment. Price is not the factor which is postponing the
purchase decision of the consumers. There are two factors
which are making people to postpone the purchase of Tata
Nano
Lack of information:

People have complete awareness about the price and 100%

people have claimed that they are aware of the price of Tata
Nano. When it comes to the features like engine capacity,
mileage, safety people have mixed response and it reveals that
company has not paid attention in communicating the features.
Company is promoting the price tagline and that is not enough
to motivate the consumers who are derived by complex buying
behaviour.
Diffusion Process:
Majority of people (70% people) adopt the innovative product
when it is 1 to 2 year old in the market. People are still waiting
to watch out this car and they are postponing the decision of
buying this car. Company should have patience in launching the
marketing programme because it is just 19 months since Tata
Nano is launched.
Post purchase evaluation:
After purchasing the product consumer will experience some
level of satisfaction and dissatisfaction.
An attempt is made to measure the satisfaction level of TATA
NANO users after the purchase and the security concerns which
is raised by many prospective users of TATA Nano.
Satisfaction:

80% Satisfied

20% dissatisfied

80% of the users are satisfied with the car and they feel that
they have got what was promised by the company and they are
happy to refer this car to others. Company should make use of
these happy users in word of mouth advertisement.
20% people are dissatisfied and they are dissatisfied due to
interior of the car, finishing of the car, delivery time and front
view.
Safety: Safety is still the concern with the existing users and
80% of the people feel that they feel Average safe while driving
Tata Nano as big cars.20% of people feel that it is equally safe
as big cars

The above data shows that company has to clearly work on

safety point of view and has to come up with the innovative
safety measures to increase the satisfaction level.
80% Average Safe

20% Equally
Safe

Role of impulse purchase in decision making process.

An impulse purchase or impulse buy is an unplanned decision
to buy a product or service, made just before a purchase .One
who tends to make such purchases is referred to as an impulse
purchaser or impulse buyer. Research findings suggest that
emotions and feelings play a decisive role in purchasing,
triggered by seeing the product or upon exposure to a well
crafted promotional message.
The research has shown that buying a Tata Nano falls under
complex buying behaviour despite the low price. The research
has also shown that people wait for 1 to 2 year before buying
the product like Tata Nano. Consumers do not take the decision
of buying a car immediately and follows the pattern of decision
making process very religiously thus impulse purchase is not
relevant in buying Tata Nano, however it can play an Important
role in choosing the accessories of the car. Marketer can
influence the consumer in choosing the colour and accessories
Target Audience.
Who will buy the Tata Nano? If online polls are an indication,
target audience of TATA Nano "hum-do-hamare-do families,"
who were the main inspiration behind the Nano. If online polls
at social networking sites are some indication, a bulk of the
potential buyers for the Nano is predominantly male. And, they
will be less than 25 years. In one online poll, 39% of the
respondents felt that the average Nano buyer will be under 25
years of age while 81% agreed that the Nano buyer will be less
than 40 years.
The research has shown that company should craft and
execute different strategy towards target audience and
the positioning of the car should be changed

Research has shown that people prefer Tata Nano as the

second car, despite of their ability to pay for the costly cars.
People are postponing the purchase of Tata Nano waiting for
the first car. The target audience of the company are the people
who belong to lower middle class and lower class. Lower middle
class and lower class people still purchase the car based on
esteem need to improve their social status.

Consumer prefrence of nano

90
80
70
60
Series 1

50
40
30
20
10
0
First Car

Second Car

80% of the lower middle class and lower class people do not
know driving and thus they are comfortable riding the bike.
Company should launch a marketing programme to teach
driving to the target audience. Once the target audience know
the driving it will be easier for the company to identifies
anticipates and satisfies customer requirements profitably.
Research has shown that most of the Target audience has
bike and it is not easy for them to abandon the bike which costs
half of the price of Tata nano. Company should give them the
exchange offer and offer them good resell price of bike.
Research has shown that company has not communicated the
features, safety and the benefit to target audience and focused

hugely on the price. Company should keep in the mind the fact
that apart from price consumers are looking for many other
aspects while buying a car.
Research has shown that most of the Target audience likes
the advertisement which is informative followed by which
shows the safety. Currently the company has the advertisement
which brings pride which is chosen least by the consumers.
Company should design the advertisement which combines the
information and safety

Advertisement preference by consumers

35
30
25
Series 1

20
15
10
5
0
Informative

Interesting

Pride appeal

Safety

The company should look beyond the current target

audience and should focus on including females in their target
audience, since most of the female feel that it is compatible
and easy to drive.
Research also revealed that there is difference in attitude
between the prospects and the current users. Current users are
satisfied with the car while prospect users have many
uncertainties in mind. Company should try to minimize this gap
by including the marketing programme which focuses on the
word of mouth.