At Deal Architect, we always see the beauty in ugly, but well priced products...but there is ugly and the "even his mom said he was an ugly baby" variety
Would the average reader of my blog buy a car which "has a dashboard that features little more than a speedometer, fuel gauge, and oil light. ...lacks basics such as reclining seats, a radio, and power steering, and will have a 650cc engine that puts out at most 70 horsepower—about what the Yugo had when it was introduced in 1986—but gets 50 to 60 miles per gallon. The ride, meanwhile, could be a tad rough...will use basic shock absorbers up front, but the rear suspension design dates back decades."
The answer is hell, no.
So, why is Tata being retrograde and non-green as it introduces its "People's Car" in Delhi tomorrow?
Well, partly because it disciplined itself to a price of Rupees 100,000 - or around $ 2,200 (yes, I am not missing a zero). Partly because even that configuration is an innovation in India. In the west we enjoy a mind boggling set of choices in car brands and shapes in sizes. The majority of India's cars and taxis sold in the 1970s -90s were the Ambassador (modeled after the 1948 Morris Oxford) and versions of the 1954 Fiat 1100. So there is a nice replacement market to compete for, especially at its price point.
Then there is the motorcycle/scooter upgrade market. There is a market for 7 million motorcycles a year in India, and a slice of this would rather be in a car, if affordable.
It reminds me of Southwest Airlines when they started. They wanted to compete against driving. To them a basic, bare bones, but well priced air ride would beat out hours of driving. Tata is similarly hoping for a basic replacement market. Don't expect it on the streets of LA or Munich any time soon.
