Tata Motors Ltd. announced on Tuesday July 2, 2011, that it plans to set up factories in foreign countries to assemble its Nano mini car. Using this strategy, the company expects to boost the global sales of the mini car. According to Mr. P.M. Telang, Managing Director (India operations), Tata Motors, the company is viewing at some Asian and Latin American countries to establish the plant where the imported cars will then be assembled. Tata Motors is already engaged in exporting the mini car to Sri Lanka and Nepal, starting from April 2011.
In the month of July 2011, the sales of Nano mini car fell 64% to 3,260 units from 9,000 units in July 2010 attributable to the rise in fuel prices and interest rate hikes. The company is experiencing a learning curve in terms of its understanding of the market for the Nano, says Mr. R. Ramakrishnan, Vice President, Commercial Passenger Vehicles, Tata Motors.
Moreover, a restructuring of the domestic dealership network for passenger vehicles is being planned by the company. This would include setting up of 300 separate Nano dealerships and 100 dealerships for utility vehicles. According to Mr. Ramakrishnan, the company expects to boost sales by transforming its full-range dealerships into product-specific dealerships.