The NT3 is claimed to be the ultimate city car as it spacious and attractive enough to magnetize people around it.

But if the Indian market scenario is considered the car may not do much since it can accept 3 passengers at once and this type of seating arrangement is not existing in our market.

Specifications Of Piaggio NT3

Size: 2.4 meters length Number of occupants: 3, driver seat at the middle (Auto-rickshaw seating arrangement) Innovative Door Opening System Safety: Space frame structure with crash box Luggage Space: Passenger Seats are removable for cargo space Engine options : 200 cc Aimed for reduced ownership cost and fuel efficiency 300 cc Technology is based on Piaggio Mp3 technology and provides brilliant performance 300 cc Hybrid Internal Combustion Engine (80 kmph) + ZEV Electric motor (30 kmph)
Suspension Front: McPherson Suspension Rear: Omega

Features Of Piaggio NT3

The cabin is wide enough to accommodate three passengers at a time alike the arrangement seen in Mclaren F1. Despite its small size, the Piaggio NT3 is quite safe thanks to the cell for the protection of a tubular structure and the standard equipment which includes the airbag.

Price Of Piaggio NT3

The car is speculated to be priced between Rs.1.5 Lakh to Rs. 2 Lakh when brought to India.

Bajaj ULC car

Bajajs ULC will give a tough competition to Tata Nano. Though the model of this car was showcased way back in 2008, it will launched in coming week and is all set to run on the Indian roads. The new model of Bajaj will have excellent fuel efficiency of 30 km per litre with a petrol engine of 800 cc, and is a five-seater car. Thus the models price will be a bit higher than the Tata Nano, which provides an average 25 km per liter. It is assumed that the price wouldnt be making much of a difference.

As the agreement has been signed between Bajaj and Renault, hence the new car will be promoted under the brand of Renault. The main significant role of manufacturer and developer is being played by Bajaj, and the marketing and promotion sections is handled by Nissan-Renault. The price and other details of the model will be revealed after the Auto Expo with its sale rights. Hence the customers have to wait for the grand announcement of the cars details so that they can give their response about Bajajs ULC capacity to out-beat Tata Nano. According to an executive from Bajaj Auto, The ULC model of Bajaj is fully ready, as the company has got the final approval from its other partners, Nissan and Renault regarding its design. The tough competitors of Bajajs ULC car are Tata Nano, Hyundai Eon and Maruti Alto. The visitors can also have a 1st hand-glance of Mercedes Benz Line-up at Delhi Auto Expo. So all the eager car-enthusiasts can surely visit the Delhi Expo 2012 to get a look of Bajajs ULC new car, so that they can make plans soon to welcome the stylish car to their homes!

Competition for Tata Nano Bajaj RE60

Written by bricktop | January 4, 2012 | 1,060 views | 4

For long enough Tata Nano has ruled the 1 lakh segment in India (if there is one ie). Its time for Nano to pull up its pants, here comes its rival. Bajajs RE 60. Rajiv Bajaj says that It is not a car. Its a four wheeler, but we will like to consider it a competitor for Nano. The biggest achievement RE has under its belt is its mileage of 35 kmpl. Considering the price hikes in Petrol, this car can save Congress in the coming elections ie. if Congress decides to gift RE to its voters. Bajaj officials say that the car has been in development since last 4 years. The RE-60 delivers top speed of 70 kmph and has been designed considering the city driving conditions. The car has a rear mounted, 200 cc petrol engine and Bajaj plans to sell the car overseas as well. So whats the price of this a 2 wheeler auto on 4 wheels? The price of the car is expected to be around INR. 125000 160000. Hey, dont rush to book one for yourself, wait and look at the images first. This is a four-wheeler built by the worlds largest manufacturer of three-wheelers used primarily as last mile people movers. The engineering is frugal but not at the cost of structural integrity, the thought behind the design is smart but not cocky and the overall tenets to drive home the point of light weight and optimum power-to-weight has resulted in a car which can and will perform adequately as an urban runabout for four with all-weather protection.

Perodua Viva: Nearest competitor to Tata's Nano

REPUBLICA KATHMANDU, Aug 25: Perodua is the most popular Malaysian brand of cars available in the Nepali market. Nemlink International Traders Pvt Ltd - the authorized dealer of Perodua for Nepal - has been selling the popular Malaysian cars in the market since 2000.

Nemlink currently sells two Perodua models in the market -- Viva and Myvi. Other models like Kelisa and Kenari have been discontinued by the manufacturing company itself.

Perodua cars are made in Malaysia using the Daihatsu engine. Viva is available is three series -- Viva 660, Viva 850 and Viva 1000. Features like keyless entry and factory fitted AC and audio system are available in all Perodua cars. Viva 660 is the basic model from the Perodua stable. Viva 850, however, has additional features like genuine wheel cap, front and rear power windows and adjustable power wing mirror. On top of all these features, Viva 1000 cc has some additional features like power steering and seat adjusting system. Among the cars we sell, Viva 850 is very popular among customers here, Pramod Dhungel, marketing manager of Nemlink, told myrepublica.com. The nearest competitor of Perodua Viva at the moment is Maruti 800. But Tata Nano with the displacement of 624 cc is expected to give tough fight to Viva 660 once Nano -- billed the worlds cheapest car -- is launched in the Nepali market. Viva is the most economical car available in the Nepali market in terms of mileage. It has other features like CD player, defogger, rear wiper and so on which wont be available in Nano. And the best thing is that, Viva gives the mileage of 23 km per liter, he added. Nemlink also offers customers with buy back guarantee on their cars. The company buys back the car with 20 percent depreciation for the first year. If the customer is planning to exchange their car with another Perodua car, then the depreciation faced by the customers is only 10 percent annually. Nemlink has already sold more then 1200 Perodua cars in the country. It plans to introduce other models from Perodua stable soon. Perodua Viva 660 cc Rs 1,350,000 Mileage: 20 km per liter Ground Clearance: 162 mm Perodua Viva 850 cc Rs 1,575,000 Mileage: 18 km per liter Ground Clearance: 162 mm Perodua Viva 1000 cc Rs 1,755,000 Mileage: 16 km per liter Ground Clearance: 162 mm

Competition to Tata Nano - Bajaj Small car

Bajaj silently unveiled its 'Lite' concept car in New Delhi, two days before the much hyped launch of Tata Motors' Rs 1 lakh car. Bajaj Auto, the country's second biggest two-wheeler maker, said it plans to bring out its small car in collaboration with Renault and Nissan within four years but it will not be for Rs 1 lakh (Rs 100,000). "I know Carlos Ghosn (President and CEO of Renault and Nissan) has set a target of 2010 for Bajaj-Renault car. While it is hard to put any time-frame, we can say in twofour years we can expect to have the product ready," Bajaj Auto managing director Rajiv Bajaj told reporters in New Delhi. Bajaj declined to give a specific price of the small car. Ghosn has earlier stated that Renault was looking for a $3,000 car in India, a move triggered by Tata Motors' Rs 1 lakh car that will be unveiled later this week.

Mature 800 Alto Chevrolate spark Babaj

Two wheeler segment

Strengths

The internationalisation strategy so far has been to keep local managers in new acquisitions, and to only transplant a couple of senior managers from India into the new market. The benefit is that Tata has been able to exchange expertise. For example after the Daewoo acquisition the Indian company leaned work discipline and how to get the final product 'right first time.' The company has a strategy in place for the next stage of its expansion. Not only is it focusing upon new products and acquisitions, but it also has a programme of intensive management development in place in order to establish its leaders for tomorrow. The company has had a successful alliance with Italian mass producer Fiat since 2006. This has enhanced the product portfolio for Tata and Fiat in terms of production and knowledge exchange. For example, the Fiat Palio Style was launched by Tata in 2007, and the companies have an agreement to build a pick-up targeted at Central and South America.

Weaknesses

The company's passenger car products are based upon 3rd and 4th generation platforms, which put Tata Motors Limited at a disadvantage with competing car manufacturers. Despite buying the Jaguar and Land Rover brands (see opportunities below); Tata has not got a foothold in the luxury car segment in its domestic, Indian market. Is the brand associated with commercial vehicles and low-cost passenger cars to the extent that it has isolated itself from lucrative segments in a more aspiring India? One weakness which is often not recognised is that in English the word 'tat' means rubbish. Would the brand sensitive British consumer ever buy into such a brand? Maybe not, but they would buy into Fiat, Jaguar and Land Rover (see opportunities and strengths).

Opportunities

In the summer of 2008 Tata Motor's announced that it had successfully purchased the Land Rover and Jaguar brands from Ford Motors for UK 2.3 million. Two of the World's luxury car brand have been added to its portfolio of brands, and will undoubtedly off the company the chance to market vehicles in the luxury segments. Tata Motors Limited acquired Daewoo Motor's Commercial vehicle business in 2004 for around USD $16 million. Nano is the cheapest car in the World - retailing at little more than a motorbike. Whilst the World is getting ready for greener alternatives to gas-guzzlers, is the Nano the answer in terms of concept or brand? Incidentally, the new Land Rover and Jaguar models will cost up to 85 times more than a standard Nano! The new global track platform is about to be launched from its Korean (previously Daewoo) plant. Again, at a time when the World is looking for environmentally friendly transport alternatives, is now the right time to move into this segment? The answer to this question (and the one above) is that new and emerging industrial nations such as India, South Korea and China will have a thirst for low-cost passenger and commercial vehicles. These are the opportunities.

However the company has put in place a very proactive Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) committee to address potential strategies that will make is operations more sustainable. The range of Super Milo fuel efficient buses are powered by super-efficient, eco-friendly engines. The bus has optional organic clutch with booster assist and better air intakes that will reduce fuel consumption by up to 10%.

Threats

Other competing car manufacturers have been in the passenger car business for 40, 50 or more years. Therefore Tata Motors Limited has to catch up in terms of quality and lean production. Sustainability and environmentalism could mean extra costs for this low-cost producer. This could impact its underpinning competitive advantage. Obviously, as Tata globalises and buys into other brands this problem could be alleviated. Since the company has focused upon the commercial and small vehicle segments, it has left itself open to competition from overseas companies for the emerging Indian luxury segments. For example ICICI bank and DaimlerChrysler have invested in a new Pune-based plant which will build 5000 new Mercedes-Benz per annum. Other players developing luxury cars targeted at the Indian market include Ford, Honda and Toyota. In fact the entire Indian market has become a target for other global competitors including Maruti Udyog, General Motors, Ford and others. Rising prices in the global economy could pose a threat to Tata Motors Limited on a couple of fronts. The price of steel and aluminium is increasing putting pressure on the costs of production. Many of Tata's products run on Diesel fuel which is becoming expensive globally and within its traditional home market.

Tata Nano spurs Competition, But at What Cost?

Dave Hurst November 6, 2009 Tata Motors has a success on their hands in the tiny car called Nano. They recently increased production by 20% and have sold the first 100,000 units before they are even built. The Nano is the worlds cheapest car and was designed for India where it sells for 100,000 Rupees (a little over US$2,100), but the plan is to expand the market including selling it in Europe in 2011. Tata is building a new plant that will be able to crank out 250,000 Nanos per year, and it is signing contracts with other companies to build the Nano under their brand. The environmental impact of the worlds cheapest car has been debated mostly in terms of the number of vehicles that it could unleash on the worlds developing cities. The Nano gets about 50 miles/gallon, and is said to perform similar to a Prius in terms of CO2 emissions. This is largely due to its tiny two-cylinder 623cc aluminum engine (with a whopping 32hp). The concern is that the price now makes owning a private car affordable to millions of people who otherwise would not be driving a car. While this all sounds very democratic and capitalistic, the Center for Science and Environment in India believes that 25% of the 50 million scooter riders in India could become car owners thanks to low priced vehicles like the Nano (others have estimated as much as 30%). That is an additional 12.5 to 14 million vehicle purchasers. That sort of number does not go unnoticed and

Toyota, GM, and Nissan have all announced they are working on vehicles that will be priced to compete with Nano. For those who have been following the Nano, none of this is big news. The real news came on Monday, when Nissan made a more detailed announcement that it will launch its small car in 2010 in India, Thailand, and China to compete with the Nano. The critical piece of this announcement included that Nissan will need to sell 1 million of these vehicles per year by 2013 in order to make the program profitable for them. That huge number would mean that sales in Europe and the United States are also planned, possibly as early as 2011. This competition to bring millions of new customers to the market can be expected to have a few different impacts. First will be an increase in emissions, just from the sheer increase in tailpipes. Using the Prius CO2 emissions of 89g/km as a yardstick, 12.5 million more vehicles would equate about 1.1 million kg/km of emissions. Some of this will be offset by fewer scooters (families that cant afford cars are often currently using scooters for transportation) many of which may actually get worse emissions due to older two-stroke engines. The second impact may be an increase in gasoline costs as fuel usage increases in India. The main concern with this is that many of the families that now own these new vehicles may shift to running the vehicles with kerosene, which is generally cheaper than gasoline and has worse emissions than gasoline. The environmental impact of this volume of vehicles will continue to be debated. However, the impact on traffic certainly wont be. At the time when the Nano went on sale last year, the average speed during peak times in New Delhi was already 7mph. By adding an additional 12.5 million vehicles to the country on a whole, it would not be surprising to see an additional 150,000-200,000 vehicles in that city alone. Surely, an influx of that much traffic would slow the already slow 7mph to a crawl. In the end, it will be up to individual countries governmental agencies to regulate this expansion of the auto market. However, it seems unlikely that they would put on the brakes, as automakers race to the lower end of the market.

Tata Motors' Nano to move a step above ultra low-cost segment with 800cc engine
MUMBAI: In early January, when Tata group Chairman Ratan Tata let on that the Nano would see a "resurrection", and that the unintended perception of it being a poor man's car would be altered, few would have anticipated what's on the cards at Tata Motors: a sportier, more powerful variant with an 800cc engine that could be launched early next year, thereby taking the car away from ultra-cost territory and closer to the entry-level segment occupied by the likes of the Hyundai Eon and the Maruti Alto. The current 624cc engine will continue to be the mainstay, but it will be focused more sharply on semi-urban and rural markets, said two persons familiar with the matter.

They added that the upgraded option, which is currently under development, is an attempt to target more affluent customers who are currently gravitating towards cars in the Rs 2.4 lakh and above price point (ex-showroom Delhi). The current range of Nanos are priced between Rs 1.4 lakh and just under Rs 2 lakh. The swankier variant, which could take 10-12 months to develop, will help in driving volumes that have stabilised at roughly 7,500 units a month and are inadequate for reaching break-even. A Tata Motors spokesperson did not respond to an email. "An 800cc engine will increase the appeal of the car and help in bringing in new buyers," said Hormazd Sorabjee, editor, Autocar India. Another person familiar with Tata Motors' strategy said, "There is nothing like an 800cc engine planned for the Nano in 2012. The company will go ahead with the Nano we have." After a much-hyped launch in March 2009, the 'People's Car' has had its share of ups and downs. Among the problems that have plagued the car are poor distribution, lack of financing options, and its relatively downmarket image in the face of a rash of snazzy entry-level car launches.

In November 2010, sales dropped to 500 units per month, forcing the company to suspend production in the following month. Late last year, Tata Motors announced the launch of an improved version of the Nano for the New Year with spruced-up interiors, a more powerful engine and higher fuel efficiency. Suspensions were improved for better ride and handling. The changes have had some impact, with sales reaching 7,466 units in December 2011 and 7,723 units in January 2012. But that may not be enough. "If sales are growing, so are marketing expenses. The company will have to up its run-rate to 15,000 Nanos a month to achieve break-even," says Abdul Majeed, auto practice leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Meantime, Tata Motors is getting ready to unveil another potential ace up its sleeve: a diesel engine-powered Nano.

The diesel engine, which will be close to 1,000cc, has been tested by Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors' premium auto operations in the UK, said those aware of the procedure. While trial runs for the two-cylinder diesel engine have begun, the company has yet to fix a launch date.
SWOT of Tata nano and why it failed to deliver

NANO which is a brain child of Ratan Tata raised hope for a lot of Middle class families by giving them the status of owning a car. Expectations were increasing amongst the customers regarding the product features and its efficiency. Competitors were eagerly waiting for its arrival to find whats inside NANO?. The only factor the customer knew in advance was its price tag of 1 lac as conveyed by Ratan Tata. But why was it not a big hit and why is it still lagging to grab the market in spite of its good and convincing features? We probed into the health of Tata Nano as a brand and as a product and carried out a SWOT analysis on NANO. Strengths Price itself was a major strength factor for the mini magical vehicle which created a sensation all over the world. Even US president Obama was all praises for the Nano during his Indian visit, an appreciation which soon spread across the world. The five seater car Nano from Tata finally arrived in the market. The strengths of the product included its small size, ease in handling and good mileage efficiency. It directly took on the motorcycle market and tried to attach a status symbol to itself such that customers prefer the Nano above buying a motorcycle. Thus they get a four wheeler instead of a two wheeler. However, sales did not happen as expected and Tata Nano lagged behind. What made the brand weak? Weakness The launch price came in two variants ranging between 1.2 lacs to 1.5lacs. It was 20 50% higher then the proposed rates which was a major setback to customers. Within a few months of initial sales, technical problems were found in the product and there were a few reports of Nano catching fire, which further weakened the trust for the brand Nano as a whole. Tata also faced political problems and had to shift the plant location which led to production delays. And now due to inflation, Nanos prices have further increased due to increase in the prices of raw material such as steel, rubber and others. Threats After the launch of Nano there were many manufacturers who wanted to take advantage of the hype of the Tata nano, and started working on manufacturing an alternative for Nano. Upcoming cars like H800 from Hyundai priced around 1.6 lac, Maruti Cervo 600cc priced around 1.7 lacs to 2lacs were imposing threats to further growth of Nanos market share. Vehicles like Alto, Chevy Spark and second hand vehicles were major substitutes for Nano. People were looking for alternatives for the main reason that it cannot be much used for driving in highways or long distances as the engine cc is low. The main threat was from an indirect competitor

Motorcycles. Nano was in between motorcycles and car and it was proving to be unreliable due to technical glitches. Thus some people were going for the cost effective solution of buying motorcycles thereby affecting Nano sales. Opportunities Though Nano is considered to be a boon for middle class people ,it is most often bought by the people who already own one or two cars!! Nano is considered to be a vehicle of convenience to drive in metro traffic. Nano 2012 is a new ray of hope in increasing number of sales and making many satisfied customers. The increase in buying power of the younger generation is a major factor for Indias automobile growth. Tata Nano diesel priced at 3.5lacs has already created a hype among its customers as Tata is known for its diesel products with high mileage efficiency like Indica and Indigo CS Even Rata tata has admitted that they were wrong in the positioning of the Nano and that the initial marketing effort was poor. Instead Nano should have been marketed as a utility car rather than a cheap car. Many manufacturers are still striving hard to compete with Nano, even they will have many drawbacks and failures and it should be a better product than Nano. Certainly revolutions arent usually neat and tidy to start with; hence Nano too is a revolution in Indian Automobile history.