Tata has begun exports of its low-price Nano model to neighbouring countries including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan. The first consignment of nearly 500 units was taken via Jawaharlal Nehru Port by Tata’s exclusive third party logistics provider TCI Supply Chain Solutions.
The Mumbai-based carmaker would not confirm details of its export plans and said only that further details would be released in due course, but it is understood that the similarity of the initial exports markets to India will facilitate the export of the Nano as no major changes will need to be made to the existing model.
The move is expected to boost sales of the Nano, which have begun to recover from a dramatic drop off at the end of last year when figures dropped to around 500 units in November, though unconfirmed reports put sales back up to 10,000 in April, the highest number since the vehicle was launched in July 2009. The move to overseas markets will reduce dependence on the home market.
Tata was reported to be facing difficulties in readying its plants for full production of the Nano in November last year but has since announced that its Sanand plant in the state of Gujurat is fully operational and will be producing 250,000 cars per year for delivery to the domestic market. The low sales figures from which the company is recovering may indicate that is now targeting foreign markets in an effort to secure sales for unsold vehicles.
The company was forced to revise figures for parts supply to the Sanand plant last 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 units a year.
Tata has also indicated that it could start selling the Pixel, a city car based on the Nano, in Europe in two to three years.
