High Booking For high end versions of Nano

Bookings of TATA Motors’ Nano began with nearly 80% of the buyers opting for the more expensive variants instead of the base level car which is priced at INR 0.123 million (ex showroom, Delhi). The trend is based on responses from dealers and banks that took bookings in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Kolkata. The Nano CX cost INR 0.148 million and the top end LX INR 0.172 million.

Mr Rajiv Lohia of R D Motors in Kolkata said that "We have booked over 70 Nanos today and most of them were the CX and the LX versions.”

In Mumbai a senior executive of State Bank of India who was coordinating with one of the dealers added that “All the 12 buyers in this dealership opted for the top end variant and all of them made the down payment of INR 0.140 million upfront. None of them were financed.”

A TATA Motors dealer in Delhi said that “In Delhi, where the car is the cheapest amongst all the major cities, dealers said most of the buyers already own cars contrary to TATA Motors’ stated strategy of using the Nano to expand the market to buyers who didn't own cars. We see up to 85% to 90% of enquiries coming from people who already drive a small car. And 90% of them have booked the mid and top end variants. So far, we have received up to 80 applications with the application fee. Almost 100% of the buyers are self financed.”

(Sourced from Business Standards)