In an extremely competitive game, when one has been thoroughly outsmarted & outclassed by not one, but many players (with possibly a couple more waiting to do the same), trying to play catch-up is going to get one nowhere. When the game itself has moved beyond one's reach, trying to run behind it is sheer folly.
There is only one way to salvage the situation in such cases and give oneself an outside chance at winning, or coming out with one's head held high, at the very least. And that way is to change the rules of the game itself!
Call me a naysayer, or a doubting Thomas, or whatever unflattering term you want. Even if one is a diehard fanboy of Tata Motors,
if one were to be honest to oneself, one will admit that the game has moved on well beyond Tata Motors' grasp. Their last ditch attempts at introducing the Bolt & Zest, Nano variants, UV refreshes, even future vehicles like the "Kite" meant to replace the aging Indica V2 and a ₹ 2 million+ SUV based on a discontinued Land Rover platform, Revotron, 3-cylinder compact common-rail diesel etc. (for these are indeed desperate last ditch attempts to stay relevant in the market) are only going to delay the inevitable. They can only manage to slow down Tata's rapid and continuing slide down the monthly passenger vehicle sales charts at worst, or help Tata maintain a constant position (and numbers) among the midfield runners at best. These attempts are not going to enable them to climb up at all.
So should Tata call it quits, and exit the passenger vehicle segment completely? Or become like Ashok Leyland, who are smartly targeting only the taxi/fleet operators (with help from their partner Nissan) in terms of passenger vehicles, apart from their core area of commercial vehicles?
Not at all! It would be sheer folly for the flagship company (Tata Motors) of a giant conglomerate like Tata to call it quits in a segment in which it was the no.2 not so long ago. Besides, it would be
a great disaster for the Indian car market to lose a big player, and
a huge loss for the Indian car buyer (even if he/she hates Tata Motors with a passion). Whatever the shortcomings of Tata Motors are as a passenger vehicle manufacturer,
they have played the biggest role in making cars affordable for the Indian car buying public. I'm not just talking about the Nano. Even when the original Indica was launched way back in the last millennium, it forced Maruti Suzuki to do the unthinkable by slashing prices of its hatchbacks, for the first time in its history. If the world automobile boffins applaud India's frugal engineering practices today, a large part of that applause should go to Tata Motors.
As I mentioned earlier, the only way to salvage the situation and give oneself an outside chance of victory is to change the rules of the game! No, I don't mean doing shady things like lobbying the government to give them special favours, or create special, separate categories of vehicles for products they have developed, or things like that.
I mean change the rules of the game in a healthy way. Exactly like Tata have done before, at least once, if not more. When Rata Tata set out the framework for the Indica project, the market was a near monopoly, with Maruti Suzuki accounting for ~ 85% of passenger vehicle sales in the country. Tata wisely did not take Maruti head-on in their game, for he knew it would be futile.
Like the visionary that he is, he sought to change the rules of the game itself. Instead of creating a hatchback to fight the Maruti cars (and some also rans like the Fiat Uno, plus the new-comers who were also entering the market then) head-on, he famously stated that "the Indica would have the exterior dimensions of a Zen, the interior dimensions of an Ambassador and the cheap running costs of a diesel". When it was launched, the Indica had only a base carbureted petrol variant, without even air-conditioning. It was only to have a low entry price for the range, and Tata did not intend to sell it in large numbers. He knew the petrol small car game was beyond Tata Motors, and hence wisely changed the game's rules, by virtually creating the diesel hatchback market (though the Zen diesel and Uno diesel were already there, they were just an additional option, much like CNG/LPG variants are today).
Tata needs the same visionary spirit now. They need to change the rules of the game itself, to merely get back into the game. And how do they do it again?
Different time, same situation; different fuel, same result.
Yes, I mean Tata must go ELECTRIC! And by "go", I mean go all out, just like they went all out with the original Indica diesel. Electric propulsion is the future, and Tata must take the lead in this. They can have a couple of petrol and diesel variants on sale just for a low entry price and for giving the option to customers. But all their efforts must be concentrated on electrics, both plug-in/series hybrids and all electric vehicles.
The Manza hybrid was already posted earlier. A Zest hybrid with the same technology can be launched, plus a Bolt hybrid. An all-electric Bolt based on the Vista EV concept developed by Tata must become the top priority:
The only way of saving the wonderful Nano now (in India, at least) and making it a true worldwide success it deserves to be, is to position it as a safe, comfortable, convenient, stylish, electric city car. With an electric Nano, the car's main weakness (engine under the rear-seat) will be turned into its top strength! It's about time they put the Nano EV concept they showcased earlier into production at Sanand. And give it the necessary safety features to make it meet crash-test norms (it can be done, as shown by the UK test) or better still, Euro-NCAP norms. A 3* Euro-NCAP rating for the Nano EV should suffice (given that the much, much more expensive BMW i3 manages only a 4* rating):
With these kinds of specs, the Nano EV should be sufficient to serve the daily needs of at least 75% of users worldwide:
All-electric technology would prove to be too expensive in its larger cars and utility vehicles (for the near future, at least) and that is where hybrids come in.
Plug-in hybrids to be precise. These are not only cheaper to manufacture, and simpler than parallel hybrids, but their fuel efficiency gains are more, and they are the perfect stepping stone to all-electric vehicles.
It's time for Tata to think in a radical and out-of-the-box manner to get back into contention. Desperate last ditch attempts and stop-gap measures can only do so much. They need to radically alter the rules of the game, as they did with their first proper car, which helped them into the no.2 spot. They need to invest heavily in electric and hybrid technology (perhaps acquire a defunct player like Th!nk of Norway/Finland), get into supply agreements with or purchase a Lithium battery manufacturer, help states/cities and private enterprises like malls/offices set up charging infrastructure, and promote electric technology in a big, big way. They can even build up hype that "the Nano EV or Bolt EV is as quiet a Rolls-Royce, as cheap to run as a Scooty and as cheap to maintain as a Splendor".
Sure, they would not be the pioneers in electric vehicles in India, Reva (now Mahindra Reva) is. Tata have a track record of creating new segments, only to have Mahindra imitate them quickly and in most cases, better them (like the Sumo/Bolero, Safari/Scorpio, Grande/Xylo, 207/Pik-Up, Xenon/Gateway, Ace/Maxximo, Ace Magic/Maxximo Passenger, RX/Genio, Indigo CS/Verito Vibe and some more).
It's time for Tata Motors to pay their "frenemies" Mahindra back in the same coin - comprehensively outclass and outsell Mahindra in an area pioneered by Mahindra Reva.
This is not something they can keep thinking about. It's a question of survival for Tata Motors in the passenger vehicle space. They need to bring back that savvy visionary spirit that made them the no.2 in the Indian market against all odds, that of being smart enough to realise the game is beyond them, and hence get back into it and give themselves a chance at victory, by changing the very rules of the game.
They have done it before, but they desperately need to do it again - NOW!