Things don’t end here with the NextGen Nano: Girish Wagh

Girish Wagh, Tata Motors’ senior VP of programme planning and management for passenger cars, says he wants to see the Nano, the micro car that has fallen way short of the company’s expectations, to be "the smartest city car". In an interview with Ketan Thakkar, Wagh talks about the new-generation Nano, which has got a small boot and some modern accouterments. Edited excerpts:

Help us run through this journey to NextGen Nano. Is this a make or break for Nano?

Absolutely, that is the reason why we are calling it a NextGen Nano. We spoke to 1,500 customers. The good thing was that, all of them were satisfied with the car. We also had a specific feedback from female customers. They wanted more variety in exterior and interior colours. We also got feedback from rural areas.

What are the major changes in the new car?

Earlier, the Nano was seen as a different car, not competing with the entry hatch segment cars (Alto, Eon), but now the needle has moved up. One was electric power-assisted steering systems, the second was on the refinement… We worked on the powertrain, we gave the AMT ( automated manual transmission) and that too with a 5th speed gear. We have been able to give a good look to the car, which is in congruous with the NextGen Nano.

How difficult is it for you to get this out, without spending much?

Yes, we have explored a diesel Nano, a bigger engine, etc. We have a plan for the Nano, the things don’t end here with the NextGen Nano. We will build on this and we will see what else needs to be done.

Is the Family of Nano plan in place?

We do have a product plan for the Nano. But this intervention is very critical and we will continue with the plan. We will take the feedback from the customers. Based on that, we will evolve our plan.