Nano Price Rise. Gets costlier by Rs. 6000

TATA Motors on Friday said it has increased the price of Nano by nearly Rs 6,000 due to rising input costs, but will retain the rate promised to the first 1 lakh customers of the low-cost car. The entry-level price of a Nano is Rs 1.23 lakh while a deluxe variant costs Rs 1.72 lakh.Tata Motors has handed over nearly 45,000 Nanos since it started delivery last July. It plans to deliver cars to the remainder of 1 lakh customers who were selected through a lottery last year from 2.06 lakh bookings before December.

The Mumbai-based company said it has begun intimating the price rise to customers who did not make the cut, but held on to bookings.

"Despite a steep increase in input prices, their Tata Nanos are being priced only 3-4 % higher, depending on the model, than the price announced at launch," the company said in a statement.

With the price rise, which it called ‘fairly nominal’ , Tata Motors joins a handful of carmakers such as Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor India that have raised prices by nearly four times in a year to offset galloping input costs.

The company also announced it would reward customers for bearing with the company through a delay in delivery due to capacity constraints.

"As a gesture of goodwill, the company has announced a choice of one-year free annual maintenance contract, or free accessories worth Rs 4,000, or an extended warranty," the statement added. Tata Motors has been steadily increasing the Nano’s production after its Sanand plant began running since June. The plant can produce 2.5 lakh units a year.

"This is the final step before the company opens up sales of the Tata Nano," it added. Tata Motors is also looking at overseas markets such as Asia and Africa to market the Nano, once capacity starts building at Sanand. It has started work on the car’s marketing in the US, executives said.

Source: IndiaTimes