Tata Nano launch in Bangladesh delayed

tata nano 1280x1024 Tata Nano launch in Bangladesh delayed

Tata Motors was expected to launch its Nano model in Bangladesh this Saturday at a fair though that has now been pushed back for a later date. As for the reason, Nitol Motors — the only Tata Motor’s distributor in Bangladesh has said they are exploring options to cut down the cost of the of what is renowned world wide as an ultra cheap car. Taxes that are prevailing in that country has led to the cost of the car getting hiked to 599,000 taka or $A7,637 and that too for the basic variant of the car.

Compared to the cost of the car in Bangladesh the same in India comes at just Rs 141,000 or $A2,780. As per Abdul Matlub Ahmad, director of Nitol Motors, “A lot of people came to us for booking at the fair. At least 23 people confirmed their interest. But we’ve deferred launch of Nano at the last moment as we’re seeking a re-look at the price, which some say is too high.”

The import duty tax that is levied in Bangladesh upon other small cars is a whooping 132 percent which makes them all that much more expensive than the car in its country of manufacture.

Abdul added “We anticipate the Nano will be very popular because it is extremely fuel efficient. You can drive more than 25 kilometers with a liter of gasoline.”

The rising cost of global price of fuel is also adding to the cost of the car given the fact that Bangladesh government has removed all subsidies that were being levied.

Tata Nano sales are presently going on in Sri Lanka apart from India and there was worldwide interest for the car at its launch in 2008 owing largely to the ultra cheap cost of the car.

The Nano market was supposed to be the largest given the 1.2 billion population of India, though things did not work out the way Tata Motors had expected. Several reasons have been attributed to the Nano failing in its marks. Primary of these include the marketing strategy where the Nano is pitched as a ‘cheap’ car, and as things turned out, no one wanted a cheap car. After all the term ‘cheap’ is considered to be anonymous with being sub-standard in many a case.

Then the lack or poor safety features of the car as well as no availability of financing processes have been the main cause for this failed project.

The car also faced incidents of catching fire while on the move and this lead to Tata having to upgrade the electric system of the car free of cost to the owners.