Tata Motors dealerships saw heavy footfalls on their showrooms as Nano bookings opened yesterday. There was a steady stream of customers and inquiries for the forms for Tata Nano. Profiles of customers flocking down to dealerships included first time car owners to people already owning two cars. There were a lot of children as well who were looking for a car for their elderly parents.
Tata Nano still remains far from ownership in next few months as the company will declare the names of first Nano owners via lottery system. The lottery will be drawn within 60 days of closure of bookings. The bookings are currently open till 25 April 2009.
Tata Motors will be able to produce only 50000 cars this year with its production capacity at its Pantnagar unit in Uttrakhand. Its mother plant in Sanand Gujarat will begin production only after first quarter of 2010. Till then the Uttrakhand plant shall produce approximately 3000 Nano models per month. The Nano, at 3.09 metres in length, is smaller than the Maruti 800 but is 21 per cent more spacious. It gets 23.6 kilometres to a litre of fuel, and its small turning radius of just 4 metres makes it easy to handle, especially in small parking lots and on narrow roads.
