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BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING A330: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGIES ASSIGNMENT-1 LECTURER: Mr. J. Mateo Student Name/ID: Sony Surendran 09093103 PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGICS Course work 1 Consider any consumer product that you think needs improvement. a. Why is improvement necessary? b. What improvement do you think, should be made on the product? c. How will these improvements affect the marketability of the product? Product: TATA NANO: The world’s cheapest 4-door hatch back car. Introduction Tata Nano is a rear-engine fixed city car able to travel four adults, built by Tata Motors(India). Targeting primarily for the Indian market.
The car has a fuel economy of around 26 kilometers per liter of petrol on the highway and around 23 kilometers per liter in the city riding conditions. It announced at the 9th annual Auto Expo on January 10, 2008, in New Delhi, India by TATA’s Managing director RATHAN TATA. The Nano had its commercial launch on March 23, 2009 and a booking period from April 9 to April 25, generating more than 200,000 bookings for the car. The Nano cars started sales to Indian customers after July 17, 2009 with a starting price of Rs 100,000, which is approximately equal to S$ 3,125 or US$2,232 as of March-21 2010.
The dual cylinder 624cc petrol engine is an all aluminium unit and is rated at 35 BHP (5,250 rpm) with 48 NM of torque (3,000 rpm). The rear mounted engine transfers power directly to the rear wheels. Why is improvement necessary? Tata Nano is an iconic automobile, also the cheapest 4 door in the world but as a proud owner of this small car I am expecting bit more modifications that can be done without much more price variation. Another way company can provide different variants with slight price differences. Safety: * Position of the battery is below driver seat and noticed excessive heat from the wire terminals. Wheels only use 3 bolts for mounting. * The Nano wears different tyre sizes at the front (135/70 R12) and rear (155/65 R12). Spare tyre size is that of the front. * One wiper only and no provision for second one. The single wiper is not strong enough during heavy rain. * ORVM (rear view mirror) too small. * The Nano’s weight bias is 58% in favor of the rear. * Suspension does not have anti-roll bars. Performance/comfort: * No disc brakes, power steering or even a glove box. The meter console is located in center, suppose to be in bias to right side. The boot can get rather hot due to the engine right underneath it. Best to avoid keeping any heat-sensitive items (ice cream, fireworks, laptops) in the boot. * the Nano’s engine sounds buzzy at idle(may be due to 2-cylindre engine). * The non-adjustable steering is positioned too low feels very uncomfortable. * Narrow foot-well, means driver has to rest his left foot under the clutch. * You need to unscrew 6 lug nuts to access the engine. * Access to the boot is only from the rear seat back , no hatch door. * the center-mounted exhaust pipe standing out. * Suspension does not have anti-roll bars.
What improvement do you think, should be made on the product? Safety: * Position of the battery is below driver seat and noticed excessive heat from the wire terminals. Suggestion: This issue able to settle by moving the battery position from below driver seat to car bonnet. * Wheels only use 3 bolts for mounting. The Nano wears different tyre sizes at the front (135/70 R12) and rear (155/65 R12). Spare tyre size is that of the front. Suggestion: It is mandatory to match the tyre size otherwise need to carry 2 spare tyres always. * One wiper only and no provision for second one.
The single wiper is not strong enough during heavy rain. Suggestion: Need to give a provision for fixing the second wiper so owner can buy and fix the second one. * ORVM (rear view mirror) too small. Suggestion: It’s not so expensive to modify the ORVM to slightly bigger one. * The Nano’s weight bias is 58% in favor of the rear. Suggestion: By transferring the battery , spare wheels, Jack etc.. to bonnet can balance the weight in a better ratio. * Suspension does not have anti-roll bars. Suggestion: Anti roll bars are mandatory to keep better vehicle stability. Performance/comfort: No disc brakes, power steering or even a glove box. Suggestion: Company can provide all these items as optional, glove box etc.. are able to accommodate without price increase. * The boot can get rather hot due to the engine right underneath it. Best to avoid keeping any heat-sensitive items (ice cream, fireworks, laptops) in the boot. Suggestion: Need to provide some heater jackets on top of engine side. * the Nano’s engine sounds buzzy at idle(may be due to 2-cylindre engine). Suggestion: a modified single balancer shaft able to bring vibrations down to acceptable levels. The non-adjustable steering is positioned too low feels very uncomfortable. Suggestion: Need to adjust the steering position to slightly high to serve all type of people. * Narrow foot-well, means driver has to rest his left foot under the clutch. Suggestion: as a back engine car it’s able to modify the foot rest area easily. * You need to unscrew 6 lug nuts to access the engine. Suggestion: It’s recommended to change to a handle lock type. * Access to the boot is only from the rear seat back , no hatch door. Suggestion: Expecting a modification like below picture. the center-mounted exhaust pipe standing out. d. How will these improvements affect the marketability of the product? As a iconic symbol of low cost car TATA surely want to keep the image of cheapest car in the world same time based on the latest markets analysis done by different automobile analysts in India they found the peoples who are ready to spend INR-100000 still ready to spend another INR-50000 for improving the comfort and safety. So it is not going to affect the car’s image of low cost car and same time still it will attract more people that who were currently using the next segment car.
Still no competitor for TATA Nano for it’s great mileage in India. So it’s nice to see little Nano with bit more modifications and improved comfort and safety measures. We can use this slogan for this people’s car “more car per car” really a great innovation helping below middle class people to own a car. Giving more value for customers hard earned money, still Nano’s market is wide and easy to sell with the two great and most important advantages of low ownership cost and great mileage (26KM per liter of petrol).