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Corporate hi-flyers make a beeline for Nano
The people's car is a hit with the corporate swish set. Among the 67,000 Tata Nano owners are corporate chieftains who otherwise ride on cars whose four wheels alone could buy the people's car. At the Lutyens' Delhi residence of Anand Burman , the chairman of Dabur India, a champagne-coloured Nano rubs bumpers with a Mercedes S-Class, a Bentley and a Range Rover.
When he got his Nano two months ago, a Dabur employee recalls, a gushing Mr Burman dragged his colleagues outside for a look-see. "It's cute and convenient," he says. It's a reaction the Rs 1-lakh car has been evoking among people who otherwise, in their choice of cars, don't seem to give a fig about price, fuel economy and the like.
Captain Krishna Nair, chairman of Hotel Leela Ventures, is a proud owner of a Nano. As are K Mahesh, CMD of Sundaram Brake Lining; Vinoo Mammen, CMD of MRF Tyres; and VC Burman, former Dabur India chairman.
While they marvel at the Nano's affordable positioning, it was the intangible that made them travel the distance from admirers to owners.
"It's the pride of India," says VC Burman, high commissioner of the Nicaraguan embassy. Ratan Tata promised India and the world a car for Rs 1 lakh about half the price of an entry-level car and delivered. While VC Burman uses the Nano to do personal work in the capital, he gets a greater thrill knowing visiting foreign delegates at the embassy will see this made-in-India, game-changing car.
Yet, there's a dash of irony in the neo-rich, who mostly move in vehicles that are anything but an advertisement for value, plumping for the Nano. Never previously has a small car been embraced in high society like this. Santosh Desai, adman and social commentator, puts it down to branding. "The Nano allows its users to be what other small cars don't," he says. "It's Indian and is a mark of innovation. And the Tata tag gives it respectability."
Captain Nair liked the courage of Ratan Tata's endeavour so much that he ordered a Nano when it first opened for bookings in March 2009. And when he got it, the 89-year-old hotelier wrote a complimentary letter to Mr Tata. Captain Nair and his 78-year-old wife, Leela, use the Nano to drive around the surroundings of the Mumbai airport, where his company has done extensive landscaping work. "We have almost stopped using the BMW and, sometimes, even the Rolls Royce for our long evening drive," he says. "Leela loves it."
While Captain Nair relates to the Nano on a nationalistic plane, Mr Mammen is a financial stakeholder in the car. His company, MRF, makes the different-sized tyres in the Nano work. "We were involved with the project from the beginning," says Mr Mammen. "So, there was a natural curiosity." Mr Mammen, who has a chauffeur, has since dropped his E-Class Mercedes for the Nano. "It's light and flexible. And it's easy to get in and get out."
Mr Mahesh of Sundaram Brake Lining is also angling to become a stakeholder in the Nano. The company has been cleared by Tata Motors to supply auto parts for the car. Mr Mahesh, who drives himself, likes the car's drive quality. "It has good headroom for a six-footer like me and amazing sedan-like comfort," he says.
Corporate hi-flyers make a beeline for Nano - The Times of India
