Innovation and New Product Development Case Study

TATA NANO: Creating a new marvel in Automotive Engineering?

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Abstract:
Tata Motors, one of the leading automakers in India launched their dream project 'Tata Nano' on 10 January 2008. The unveiling of 'Tata Nano', the people's car from Tata Motors, marked the beginning of a new era in automotive engineering in India. The dream project of 'Tata Nano' was designed with a family in mind and had features that included a roomy passenger compartment with generous leg space and head room. Tata Nano proposed to have a top speed of about 105 kmph and was nearly the same size as its nearest rival Maruti, considered the benchmark in terms of small car pricing. Astonishingly all this came at the mere price of 1 lakh rupees, whereas Maruti's cheapest model was priced 1.95 lakhs rupees. However, the presence of a rear engine might create a few disadvantages in its manoeuvring, rendering uneven weight distribution, poor handling and cramped space for rear-end passengers. Apart from this, the absence of air bags, use of aluminum in engine making, use of instrument panels similar to those in motorcycles had raised scepticism and discontent about the 'Tata Nano'. Although the emergence of Tata Nano opened up a new dimension of automotive designing in India, the question of its completeness thus remained an area of concern in the future.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To discuss the role of Tata in the field of automotive engineering in India
• To analyse the concept of frugal engineering in the making of Nano
• To analyse the major obstacles in the path of making 'Tata Nano' a success.

Keywords :  Automotive engineering, Telco, Peninsular locomotive works, Ratan Tata, IDEA, Thermodynamics, Prototype, Die-cast engine, Crank shafts, Frugal engineering council, Mc Pherson struts, Rear-mounted engines, Glued body parts