Indian carmaker Tata Motors has extended bookings for its Nano vehicles in the Indian states of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh this week. Logistics provider TCI Supply Chain Solutions will be supporting distribution of the vehicle.
Asked about the transport of the Nano to the states highlighted, TCI’s spokesman Jasjit Sethi said his company was using the same assets it used to distribute the earlier 100,000 vehicles that were allotted across all states of India “barring none”. The extension of bookings in the states named does not constitute a new area for Tata sales as reported elsewhere according to Sethi.
The extension of bookings is alleged to be a response to low sales figures, which in part are attributed to limited distribution, though Sethi told Automotive Logistics News that “there are no issues for distribution in terms of volumes or states.”
Higher-than-expected pricing has also contributed to the low sales.
At the beginning of the year, cancellations by Tata Nano customers in India frustrated by the delay in delivery and the interest rates accruing on undelivered vehicles were reported to be above 15% of total buyers.
Tata Motors said it has now established ties with 26 banks to offer customers with loans for purchasing the Tata Nano at attractive rates of interest, with further such arrangements in the pipeline.
Following perceived difficulties in readying its plants for full production Tata has also announced that its Sanand plant in the state of Gujurat is now fully operational and will be producing 250,000 cars/year for instant delivery.
The company was forced to revise figures for parts supply to the Sanand plant earlier this year and asked suppliers to halve the delivery of parts for Nano production as it revised down the production level to between 125,000-150,000 (read more here).
The company also makes the Nano at its factory at Pantnagar in the northern state of Uttarakhand with output between 35,000-40,000. No revisions to production here have been made.
Tata Nano sales have already begun in Kerala (since August 2010), and in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal (since October 2010).
