Tata Nano’s Bangladesh foray delayed due to pricing concerns!

The Tata Nano was scheduled to be launched in Bangladesh on the 15th of October, 2011. The launch did not happen as scheduled due to pricing issues of the car. Tata’s distributor, Nitol Motors, has not gone ahead with the launch as the price of the Nano in Bangladesh, which is almost three times the Indian price might not go down well with customers. The base variant of the Tata Nano costs INR 1.4 Lakhs in India while the car in Bangladesh was said to retail for 599,000 Bangladeshi Taka, equivalent to INR 3.86 Lakhs.

Tata Nano

This steep price for the Tata Nano in Bangladesh is mainly due the 142% import duty that the Bangladesh government levies on imported products. Therefore, the better option for Tata would be to assemble the Nano in Bangladesh, which would enable the firm to price the Nano more competitively. For now, the Tata distributor for Bangladesh has deferred the small car’s launch in Bangladesh fearing lack of demand due to the high price of the Nano. On how the distributor will work around this issue is something that remains to be seen even as we have a statement emerging from Abdul Matlub Ahmad, director of Nitol Motors.

A lot of people came to us for booking at the fair. At least 23 people confirmed their interest. But we’ve deferred launch of Nano at the last moment as we’re seeking a re-look at the price, which some say is too high. We anticipate the Nano will be very popular because it is extremely fuel efficient. You can drive more than 25 kilometres with a litre of gasoline.

So, the Nano for the moment is no-no for Bangladesh and local assembly of the Nano in Bangladesh, through completely knocked down(CKD) kits could be the only way to lower the price of the small car.

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