Tata's small car might just have managed to steal the thunder from the annual boat racing festival in Kerala. For a special offer for Onam, Keralites have decided to give oars a rest, and test-drive the Nano instead.
The company has laid speculations to rest on dwindling brand recall stories for the Nano as the car opened to a robust response in Kerala, a week after bookings for it were opened. The Nano is currently on sale in Kerala only.
Tata Motors is going all out to woo Malayalees, while cashing in on the traditional harvest festival of Onam with a promise of the delivery of the Nano within 30 days of booking it.
According to the company, showrooms across the states' 38 cities and towns have recorded more than 3,000 enquiries from customers for the small car. Industry sources add that a large number of them are getting converted into confirmed bookings.
This is the first time that the company has reopened bookings for the Nano after it closed the same more than 15 months ago. It had then accepted booking requests from 203,000 customers through a sale of forms last year, valued at nearly 2,500 crore.
However, only 100,000 customers were pegged to get the delivery of the vehicle through a computerised random selection procedure. The company though sold 6.10 lakh forms each costing Rs 300 and the total value being Rs 18.3 crore.
"Onam is a very auspicious occasion in Kerala. During the month before Onam, residents of Kerala transact a large volume of new purchases, including cars. That is why, on the anvil of Onam, Tata Motors has announced that residents of Kerala, who are desirous of driving home a Tata Nano but had not booked the car during 2009, will be able to purchase a Tata Nano", stated the spokesperson of Tata Motors.
The booking amount for the Nano has been kept at Rs 25,000, with financing options available from Tata Motor Finance and banks like State Bank of India, among several others, according to a dealer based in Ernakulam.
"The allotment letter will be given to the customer within 20 days after the booking process is complete. Delivery of the car will be done within 30 days from the booking date. They (Tata Motors) has assured us about the delivery date", said the dealer.
"The response has been overwhelming. A large of customers are turning up for a visual experience of the car. We have so far undertaken bookings of 25-30 Nano's in the first week and hopeful to do 120-130 units before month's end", the dealer further stated.
The robust response is due to the company's initiatives with the customer including setting up more than 100 touch points in the state, set up especially for the festival. Prospective customers are allowed to test drive the car at these centers.
As an added feature Tata Motors is also providing a three year or 200,000 kms free service on the car. The on-road price of a BS III Nano base variant in Kerala is about Rs 1.38 lakh while for a fully loaded top-end variant comes at Rs 2.12 lakh. A BS IV version is pricier by Rs 3,000, according to the dealer.
"We are expediting despatch of Tata Nano's for allottee and retainee customers for Kerala for delivery before Onam. Tata Motors will in due course open sales for the Nano in the rest of India", the spokesperson further added.
