We all are aware that the Tata Nano’s sales at present are far less than expected. In order to give a boost to the sales, either the manufacturer has to launch a makeover of the Nano or a diesel variant. While the makeover is still a couple of years away, the Nano diesel is confirmed to be launched by this financial year. Karl Slym, Managing Director, Tata Motors has hinted the launch of the diesel powered Nano by the end of March 2014. Slym hopes that the Nano diesel will revive the slumping sales of the hatchback.
Recently Tata Motors released a slew of facelifts under the HORIZONEXT strategy including the Nano facelift. The gradual addition of features and updates are not helping the company in increasing volumes significantly but the carmaker looks confident to revive the Nano in the near future as the updates start rolling. Some of the soon to be launched updates include a CNG powered Nano and a power steering equipped Nano. At present, Tata Motors is heavily relying on Jaguar Land Rover unit to compensate poor demand of passenger vehicles in India.
Tata Motors’ need of the hour is a new hit car, capable of churning out big volumes in order to regain the lost market share. The Nano diesel is expected to be powered by a 2-cylinder, 800cc turbocharged diesel engine that produces around 40 BHP of power. It could be the most fuel efficient car in India, which is expected to return around 35-40 km/l of fuel mileage. Of late, the diesel powered Nano has been spotted testing with redesigned bumpers and operable boot lid. We can expect official details of the Nano diesel to be revealed at the 2014 Auto Expo.
Source – Reuters
