Tata's Nano in Trouble?

It seems India's favourite small car has run into trouble. I am a bit sad because I love that car and wanted it to be my first one. No more. Here's an article in knowledge@wharton which is a good source of information on India. Some of the coverage and precise data you get there is unmatched by any Indian publication. Try it. They have a free newsletter every week which links to these articles. Here's an extract.

By the end of the year, it was a different picture. As of December 2010, there were about 77,000 Nanos sold -- a far cry from the one million units group chairman Ratan Tata had been talking about in 2005. This figure includes open sales (that started in August 2010) and some deliveries to the second batch of applicants. That would imply that at least 78,000 (23,000 from the first batch plus 55,000 from the second) have cancelled or "delayed delivery" (where customers opted to take delivery later).

A friend said that much as he liked the Nano, we wouldn't want to be seen arriving in a Nano. I think there lies the car's identity crisis.

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