TATA Nano booking numbers.

TATA Motors have not yet come out with the official numbers of Tata Nano booking. But its wide spread that the numbers have crossed one million.
TATA Motors say that the official numbers will come in few days, they are in the process of counting the forms.

Even the banks which took Nano financing and booking didn't give the numbers.

The only source giving the number was carwala.com which accepted the booking of NANO online. Carwals has booked around 10,000 cars from around 500 cities.

Out of these 10K bookings 55% of the bookings have been done for the top version and 25% and 20% for middle version and the base model respectively.

I will update the exact number of bookings as soon as the company comes out with the list. Be a backed for it!

Booking a NANO can give you higher returns than FD.

If you book a Nano, and unfortunately not selected in the draw, do not despair as your booking amount will fetch you better returns than even a fixed deposit. With RBI's recent reverse repo and repo rate cuts, banks have started slashing deposit rates, with fixed deposits now fetching lesser interest rates as against what Tatas will pay on your booking amount.

Booking for the Nano which opened on April 9, will close on April 25. Tata Motors will only be able to allot only one lakh cars in the first phase, within two months of closure of bookings. But for those who are not successful in getting the car in the first phase, have the option to retain their deposit on which Tata will pay an interest of 8.5% for people who have to wait between one to two years to get their Nano, and 8.75% for over two years.

As against this, a fixed deposit with a PSU like United Bank of India will fetch you an interest of 8% for 36 months. SBI at present offers 7.75% on deposits (below one crore) for a period of one to less than two years, while a deposit for two years to less than 1000 days, fetches interest of 8%.

"This is a great offer. Even if a customer is not successful in getting selected in the draw the first time, he can retain his booking amount over six to eight months on which Tata will pay more than what he would have earned if he had invested in a FD," a bank official said. The booking amount is Rs 95,000 for the base variant , Rs 1.2 lakh for middle and Rs 1.4 lakh for the top-end airconditioned model.

So it would make sense to retain the deposit with the bank till the time the next allotment takes place, say banking experts, if you are serious about buying the car, while at the same time earning a higher return (8.5%) than a fixed deposit in a bank (7-8 % or even lower if revised downwards over the next few days).

The one-lakh car has met with an astounding response with most bookings coming for the top-end air-conditioned model, which carries a price tag of Rs 1.72 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The top variant in Mumbai is priced at Rs 1.85 lakh. Tata Motors has said that it would be able to produce only 50,000 units of Nano from its Pantnagar facility in Uttarakhand, until its dedicated plant at Sanand (Gujarat) starts production late this year. - ET

How to Book a Tata Nano ?

Rush for booking a Nano starts 4th April.
Though I personally wont go for a Nano I am blogging it for your benefit.

How can you book a Nano ?

Filling a Application form
(Application forms are available in all Titan Showrooms, State Bank of India, Westside and Croma.)
Application form is available at Rs 300 at the above mentioned places.

Another way to book a nano is to book it online and if you do so you get a Rs 200 discount on form.
One additional feature of booking online is that @ virtual showroom you can see the car see your car online after choosing from a range of accessories.

See the online application form.

Nano plant in Singur again?

Whats happening? Tata Nano may start a plant in Singur West Bengal again ?
West Bengal on Wednesday claimed that the world's cheapest wheels, Nano, will be made in Singur, although car maker Tata Motors had stomped out of the eastern Indian state in a huff last year.
A spokes person told that Tata Nano would require 4 - 5 plants all over India and more over Singur being the number one location of the plant they may/can start the operations in Singur.(Source)

Used cars business in India tumbles - NANO Effect.

Now its the Used cars business which was caught by the grip of Nano Effect.
Dealers say the prices of the used cars have fallen over 20% since the announcement of Nano dates.

The Nano, expected to sport an on-road price of Rs 1.25-1.3 lakh (Rs 125,000-130,000) for the no-frills, base version, will compete with the compact cars of Hyundai Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and General Motors. Its high-end version, complete with air-conditioning, central locking, power windows and power steering, will cost approximately Rs 1.7 lakh (Rs 170,000).

Nano has pulled down prices of several models. For instance, a 2006-make Hyundai Santro is currently being offered at Rs 230,000 as against its regular price of Rs 260,000. Similarly, Maruti Suzuki's Zen Estilo is Rs 40,000 cheaper at Rs 260,000 as against the usual price of Rs 300,000. (via)

After all people would prefer to by a new Nano for Rs 1.2 lakhs to 1.5 lakhs rather than buying a used Maruti 800 at the same rate.

So is the Used car Industry vanished?
May be no because there are always buyers , but the profit margines of the dealers are certanly to decline. Many would not prefer to buy a used car they would rather buy a NANO at the same cost or a cost much lesser than that.

Over to you.
What do you think about it?

TATA Nano will be launched on the 3rd of March.

All of you must be aware of the worlds cheapest car. Commonly known as the One Lakh Rupee car would be launched on the 3rd of March.
The booking for TATA Nano will start in the last week of Feb.
3rd March is the Birthday of Jamshedji Tata and also marks the launch of Tata Nano from now on.

Booking a NANO -
The booking amount for the world’s cheapest car will be Rs. 70,000. However, even after paying nearly 70 percent of the total cost, the wait for the final delivery of the car may be quite long.
The standard model will be available for Rs 1 lakh and there will two other models priced at Rs 1.24 lakh and Rs 1.34 lakh.

TATA hopes to collect Rs 700 cr in few weeks. This will give TATA some capital as it is currently in a bad financial situation of facing huge debt. It has not even paid off the vendors their dues.

I was shocked to read that Tatas are planning to give Nano to celebrities - few names include President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Opposition Leader LK Advani, Sania Mirza, Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

But TATA being the common mans car why is it going to them who have a Merck of BMW and Even Ferrari for an instance. What will they do of NANO ?
Rather they should give it to common man or the brave who have done some extra ordinary deed for the nation.