any news about Tata Nano?

[donbuggy]

[vivafoxpro]

Ok naman porma. Off the bat I would buy one over a moped. Sa moped isang paa mo nasa hukay na 'ika nga.

A test drive is always the best for a car buyer.

Another good reason is political : If ever the Nano succeeds (like the Asus EEEPC na inismol nung una), this will send a message to the bigger car companies and fuel monopolies that we need and want smaller fuel miser vehicles.

[john5]

nabasa ko to sa world's smallest and cheapest,car,cool

[vivafoxpro]

Here is a video from Youtube

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDVufUfaxlA"]YouTube - Tata Nano - CNET Review[/ame]

[bananatype]

Ah, the Tata Nano, very interesting car! It could address the call of our times:
1. Mobility for the masses
2. Safe, comfortable, economical transportation
3. Minimal carbon footprint
4. Employment generation.
Mobility for the masses - PHP and INR are about 1:1. This means that 1-lakh Rupee is about PHP100k, or about twice the price of a typical underbone. For twice the price, you get twice the seating capacity and some luggage space too, not to mention protection from the elements. Lest we forget, there’s a legislative proposal banning small children from riding MCs, so that’s another advantage. Assuming a buyer gets a conventional 20% DP 24- months financing at prevailing loan rates, then he/she shouldn’t be paying more than P4k/month – the price of 2 underbones.
Safe, comfortable, economical transportation – It is said that a car is 5 times safer than an MC. I doubt that MC buyers don’t care about safety, it’s just that safety is not affordable yet. Regarding economical transportation, the Nano is rated at 23.6 km/L by ARAI, the official industry tester of FC in India, although Tata itself only claims 20 km/L. Now unless the typical Indian city has suddenly achieved Malaysian or Singaporean road and driving conditions, then it is reasonable to assume that the Nano can obtain that FC in the Philippines. And besides, gas is going up again (ouch!).
Minimal carbon footprint – The Nano Euro III is rated at 101 g/km CO2 emissions as compared to Suzuki A-Star (a.k.a. Celerio) Euro V at 103 g/km. So we know that it’s up there with the best. When compared to MCs though, better FC implies that MCs will get better CO2 emissions. But when it comes to hydrocarbons, the Nano which is Euro III compliant is much better than an MC with no catalytic converter at all.
Employment generation – From inception, the Nano was conceived to be exported in CKD kit and assembled in plants that are not automated and roboticized. It is said that a plant that assembles autorickshaws (a.k.a. tuk-tuk) could assemble the minimalist and modularized Nano. The Nano business model calls for regional dealers to perform assembly in addition to the usual, sales, service, and parts business. This implies that in addition to the dealer manpower complement, it would also employ skilled workers in a bodyshop, paintshop, drivetrain, electrical, trim, and final QC stations in a large regional dealer.
Some obstacles:
Cost - Assuming a CKD kit landed cost of PHP80k (this is worst-case scenario), and after adding in 1% import duty, excise tax of not more than P6-7k, inland logistics, cost of assembly, importer’s and dealer’s margin, municipal tax, and 12% VAT, then a Nano would cost around PHP150k for the basic model sans A/C, radio, insurance, and registration. The assumptions are conservative, resulting in a 33% difference in price from domestic Indian SRP.
Politics – A PHP150K car for the masses is gonna piss off the surplus-car importers, unless you cut them into the action (possibly by landing the kits at their favorite ports and other ahem…favors) thereby raising your costs.
Labor – You’re gonna piss off the local parts makers unless you cut them into the action as well through local parts sourcing. They’ll raise a stink with the BOI, DTI, both houses of congress, etc. which can cause delays. Also, there’s no way in hell that local parts will be cheaper due to volume considerations.
Industry – Do you think the entrenched brands will just take this sitting down? Also, you have the resurgent Chinese brands (Chery is making a comeback, Geely is getting serious, BYD is said to be entering…) who will have their own low-cost models (but hopefully not below P300k cuz they’ll be in CBU form at 30% import duty).
Consumer tastes and preferences – Elusive and essentially unquantifiable. Just look at the faltering Nano sales in India (although this is mainly because Maruti sweetened the deal on their tried-and-tested Maruti 800) after an initial burst of enthusiasm. The Philippines is not a mature market where the majority of buying decisions are rational, so we could be horribly mistaken when we assume that people want a cheap, safe, and economical alternative to MCs or mass transit. For all we know, maybe the C-D-E segment would rather spend the cash on fancy phones and digital devices than on a practical car.
Anyway, I’m hoping that a visionary investor would look into this interesting product and actually bring it in. If the obstacles can be overcome, then the Nano could answer the call of our times.
Cheers

[desert fox]

paikliin ko lang sinabi ni brobanana...

"Pamalit sa trisikol....."

[bananatype]

*desert fox - haha I doubt kung mapapalitan ng Nano ang tricycle -- mahilig sumakay/bumaba ang pinoy whenever and wherever. Moreover, sure itong hindi magugustuhan ng trike drivers -- masmahirap sumingit and sumuot sa traffic

Tumataas nanaman ang gas at diesel. Yung 20 km/L ng Nano is looking better and better.

Cheers

[bananatype]

Picked this up off the Indian automotive portal www.cardekho.com this morning.

Tata is considering Jakarta as their ASEAN manufacturing base for Tata Nano for local Indonesian consumption and possible export to Malaysia, Thailand and the PHILIPPINES. If all goes well, 2013 is the timeline.

Here's the link:

http://www.cardekho.com/india-car-ne...nesia-3894.htm

Asean manufacturing base implies high local content, qualifying it for 0% import duty under AFTA-CEPT tariff. Looks like we could still get this car for under USD3,000.