Tata Motors sales plunge by nearly half

Filed under: Car Buying, Trends, Etc., Earnings/Financials, India, Tata

Even when you (intend to) make the cheapest brand-new car in the world, you can't escape an economic downturn. Global jitters and year-end hemming and hawing have conspired to slice Tata's December sales figures nearly in half compared to a year ago. December is a traditionally slow month for auto sales as buyers try to put off expenditures until the next year (when incentives are more attractive on existing stock), but even accounting for the bargain hunters, this is a major drop.

Everyone, everywhere is down, and Tata Motors stock has taken a beating thanks to the economy and costly external issues like plant troubles. That said, recent interest rate cuts have buoyed company shares in hopes that the Nano (not to mention Saint CarBuyer) will soon arrive, and if nothing else, they still have the Indica's longevity to celebrate.

Gallery: Tato Nano - Live from Geneva

[Source: Reuters]

Tata Motors sales plunge by nearly half originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[ Via: Tata Autoblog ]
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CAR drives Tata Nano, goes 60 mph in 17 seconds

The Tata Nano's claim to fame is its budget $2,500 price tag. You'd have trouble picking up a 1995 Honda Civic with 140,000 miles on it for that price. But what do you get for the price of a lawn tractor? How about a 624cc 33-hp motor mated to a four-speed manual transmission, for starters. That potent combo will propel any lucky Nano driver from 0-60 in 17 seconds. Add some groceries and a passenger (or a slight uphill grade) and we're guessing you'll never see 60 mph in any time frame.
CAR Magazine in the UK recently became one of the first publications in the world to drive the Nano and did mention that it has a compliant ride, which is quite a feat considering the MSRP. The Nano also has options like a radio and air conditioning, but if you ever want to go faster than 50, we'd advise you skip the freon. Tata is looking to remedy this "performance" problems with a more powerful gasoline powerplant mated to a five-speed automatic, but for now the Nano will only manage to hit 60 in the time it takes to heat up a hot dog in your 1,200-watt microwave. That 13-year-old Honda is starting to sound pretty good right about now.
[ Via: eGMCarTech ]
[ Tag: 0-60 17 seconds, 0-6017Seconds, 2500 car, 2500Car, tata nano, TataNano ]

In addition to Nissan/Renault, Chrysler has been talking with Tata, Fiat

Bob Nardelli, Chrysler's current CEO, has given his employees the closest thing to an admission as we are likely to see that the company has been in serious negotiations with other automakers regarding future product plans and possibly even mergers. As has been widely reported over the weekend, Chrysler has apparently had discussions with General Motors regarding a tie-up between the two automakers, and the rumormill is churning away with stories that GM isn't the only suitor. Carlos Ghosn already has a history of merging automakers, and his Nissan/Renault partnership has naturally been recalled as a possible mate with Chrysler, as have Fiat and Tata Motors.
Remember that there's nothing concrete here to report, just speculation. At this point, all we know is that Nardelli admits that there are "third parties who are interested in exploring future possibilities with Chrysler" and that "as the company evaluates strategic options to maximize core operations and leverage its assets, we engage in a dialogue with these parties." Sounds pretty vague, wouldn't you say? These talks can be routine or they could be much more. We'll just have to keep an interested eye on the news.


[ Via: The Detroit News ]
[ Tag: chrysler, chrysler merger, ChryslerMerger, fiat, gm, merger, nissan, renault, tata motors, TataMotors ]

Tata ready to move Nano plant away from contentious region

The Tata Nano may be the most expensive vehicle ever to be the cheapest new car on earth. Violent protests at one of the car's planned assembly sites have gotten so rampant that the Indian automaker is near a deal to exit the nearly completed West Bengal facility all together. Just a few days after a supplier CEO was killed by a mob of protesters, two body guards were also assaulted at the contentious facility. The controversy in West Bengal centers around the land that local farmers lost to the $200 million Euro facility, and with the building nearly complete, it's hard to believe that land will be returned any time soon even if Tata did abandon the region.
Word out of India is that the state of Karnataka has offered Tata Motors 1,000 acres plus incentives to move Nano production there, and the local media is reporting that Tata is going to announce plans as early as next week. We're not in the micro car business, but if we were, we'd avoid building them where there is the constant threat of being beaten or killed by an angry mob. Moving Nano production to a region that actually wants the Tata there seems like a foregone conclusion at this point.


[ Via: Motor Trend ]
[ Tag: india, tata nano, TataNano, west bengal, WestBengal ]