IDEA GENERATION So , how did TATA known for making lumbering trucks come out with a cuteas a bug

car that its rivals could not built to a target price of 1 lakh? In India , a middle class family would travel by scooter in the classic, death-defying Indian fashion. The father would drive with his son on the floorboard in front of him and the mother seated pillion, cradling her infant daughter in her arms. In India at that time, CARS for a young family were far out of reach and is still the same .Ratan TataIt all started with a dream which was translated into a reality on the 10 th of January, 2008 at the Auto Expo, Delhi.The concept behind the creation of the Peoples Car was to fill the status voidthat was felt by the middle class families. IDEA SCREENING The next step was the screening of idea. How is this d r e a m p o s s i b l e ? W h a t should they make? A scooter with two extra wheels at the back for better stability? An Auto-rickshaw with four wheels? A three wheeled car like a closed auto- rickshaw?? A four wheeled car made of Engineering Plastics? A Four wheeled rural car? Rolled up Plastic curtains in place of windows?

Openings like Auto rickshaws from the side A four wheeled open car with safety side bars?But the market wanted a car and if they build a peoples car it should be a carand not something that people would say, Ah! Thats just a scooter with fourwheels or an auto-rickshaw with four wheels & not really a Car.Trying to build a car cheap enough for motorcycle buyers seems to make sensenow but seemed crazy several years ago when Ratan Tata, longtime chairman of Tata Motors , first mentioned his dream of building a one-lakh car in 2003."They are still saying it can't be done," he says, insisting that it can and will.After we get done with it, there will hopefully be a new definition of low-cost." CONCEPT TESTING AND DEVLOPMENT Befo re sta rting the pro ject, Wag h did so mething no o ne a t Tata Mo to rs ev erha d: He ta lked to customers. The three -w heeler men inevita bly insisted on a cheap, dependable truck that could go from village to market carrying, say, aton of onions or potatoes, one night, as sunset approached, Wagh stuck with onerickshaw driver. He says, "I kept asking the question. Why? Why? Why do youwant a fourwheeler?" Wagh remembered. Finally, he got the real answer. Itturned out it wasn't really a problem of transportation of vegetables If I had a four-wheeler, I would have better marriage prospects in my village," the youngm a n s a i d . D r i v e r s o f t h r e e - w h e e l e r s a r e l o o k e d d o w n u p o n i n I n d i a . W a g h realized that four wheels had emotional, not just practical, appeal.Thus the new product was now to be developed.The car was to cost Rs. 1 lakh on road.

The car should be built on a different platform than conventional ones. It must be meeting all the safety and regulatory requirements. The car has to be designed so that it can be exported to other countries asthe domestic demand may not materialize as per projections. The car must be a beacon for the Indian Automobile industry and prove tothe w orld tha t w e a re ca pable to ta ke any challeng e and co me o ut w orthy winners . That quest to build the world's cheapest car hasn't ended. The mission beganback in 2003, when Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Motors and the $50 billionTata conglomerate, set a challenge to build a "people's car" Tata gave three requirements for the new vehicle : It should be low-cost, adhereto regulatory requirements, and achieve performance targets such as fuelefficiency and acceleration capacity.The design team initially came up with a vehicle which had bars instead of doorsand plastic flaps to keep out the monsoon rains. It was closer to a quadricyclethan a car, and the first prototype, even a bigger engine, which boosted thepower by nearly 20 per cent, was still dismal. But failure didnt stop them they quickly realized it was necessary to bring everyone on board. Every onefrom manufacturers to vendor development teams were asked to be a part of decision-making.T h e b o d y h a d t o b e c h a n g e d because Ratan Tata, over six feet tall h i m s e l f , wanted it to be easy for tall people to get in and out

of the car. The attention todetail paid off: When the car rolled onto the dais at the Auto Show in New Delhiin January, and Ratan Tata stepped out of the driver's seat with ease, it madean immediate impact.What shook the automobile world most was the fact that the designers seem tohav e done the impo ssible: The sleek, sophistica ted Na no didnt lo o k flimsy o r inexpensive. If it had been an upgraded scooter on four wheels, Tata still wouldhav e been applauded fo r ma king a fa mily o f four safer o n Indian ro ads . TheN a n o , h o w e v e r , a f f o r d s b o t h s a f e t y a n d s t a t u s ." T h e i n n o v a t i o n w a s n ' t i n technology; it was in a mindset change"

If only 10% customers of 9 Million two wheeler m a r k e t t r a n s i t t o 4 - wheelers it shall amount to 50% of the passenger car market share. It was decided to set up plants with 5 lakhs cars per annum capacity andramp the same up in stages, in line with increase in market demand . PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT And finally the product was developed with the following features. Engine CapacityBosch 624 c.c. twin cylinder. Low capacity, Lighter, sufficient with better Power Rear Engine to reducethe transmission length using a balancer shaft. 4 Speed Manual Gear Box.

All Aluminum Engine. Higher thermal conductivity than cast iron, Lighter and so better mileage. Engine Management System by Bosch Superb control over emission and smooth acceleration. Dimensions L: 3.1m, W: 1.5m, H: 1.6m Less length but more inner cabin space due to h e i g h t . C o m f o r t a b l e l e g room.

Independent Fro nt & Rea r Suspensio n M cPherson Strut in Fro nt & Coil spring & trailing arm in rear. Better ride than Maruti 800. Single piece ribbed steel body with safety features such as crumple zones,intrusion resistant doors, seat belts, strong seats & anchorages. Safety requirements are adequately met. Single Wiper in place of two. Cost effective . Tube less Tires.

Weight reduced by 2 Kg. Cost reductions 200 Rs. And in line with modernvehicles. Instrument console in the centre Elegant to look at and can be used both in Left Hand & Right hand version. COMMERCIALIZATION It will be commercialized in whole of India. It is mostly targeted to the middleclass and lower middle class people.

INNOVATIVE MARKETING . Tata will sell its ultra cheap new car through its own retail and electronicsmegastore outlets as well as auto dealershipsThe Rs 1 lakh car, which broke new ground in design, engineering andproduction processes, will opt for "cost-effective and innovative use of media,"say people with knowledge of the Nano marketing strategy.To make the car more easily accessible to people, the Tata Motors team will sellthe Nano not just through Tata car dealerships across the country, but alsothrough conventional retail outlets like Westside and Croma.Westside and Croma outlets will display the Nano and also take bookings. Alsoavailable will be a whole range of Nano merchandise like baseball caps, T-shirtsand key chains, among othersThe Nano's overall marketing strategy will use conventional media in anunconventional manner. Unlike most small cars, (Nano won't be big onadvertising. There will be no TV campaign, only innovative use of print, radioand other media, particularly the web. The Tata team is working on Nano newsin papers, Nano breaks on radio, Nano appearing in the form of messages orticker news on TV, online

Nano games, Nano chatrooms on the Net, Nano pop-ups on major websites and Nano conversation on Facebook, Orkut andblogspaces).According to people in the ad industry with direct knowledge of the Nano'smarketing strategy, the campaign will be cost-effective and innovative so thatNano becomes synonymous with anything"small, cute and brief.""The idea isto make the Nano part of our everyday lingo like 'see you after a nano,' it's atotally wordof-mouth campaign," said a person familiar with the Nanomarketing strategy.