Hoping to perk up sales of its people’s car, Tata Motors has launched an

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upgraded version of the Nano at the same price. The upgraded Nano with additional features and better fuel efficiency will be priced at Rs.1.4 lakh, ex-showroom, Delhi for the standard variant, Rs1.7 lakh for the CX and Rs1.96 lakh for the top-end LX version.

“The car’s 624cc engine has been made more powerful. It will deliver 38PS (horse strength) of power against the earlier 35 PS and 51Nm of torque as compared to 48 Nm torque in the existing model. The fuel efficiency of the car has also increased to 25.4 kilometre per litre (kmpl), against a mileage of 23.6 kmpl earlier under testing conditions,” said a Tata Motors statement.

According to data released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, the car’s sales have declined by around 18 per cent to 33,245 units during the April-October 2011 period, as compared to the same period in the previous year. Tata Motors domestic sales of passenger vehicles too fell by 11.47 per cent year on year to 1,79,323 units during April-October 2011.

Vineet Hetamasaria, head of research and auto analyst at Pinc Research said, “The inherent problem of space in the car remains. Making cosmetic changes like tweaking the engine to provide more power and better mileage will not help Tata Motors. A first time buyer always looks for boot space in the car, which is absent in Tata Nano. In the current format, the car is more appealing for customers who have more than one car at home and not for first time buyers.”

PM Telang, MD for India operations at Tata Motors said, “Nano owners have given us valuable insights on what more can be done. We have introduced some of these ideas. We will continue to add features across our product portfolio.”

Mitul Shah, auto analyst, First Global said, “The company is making all possible efforts to increase sales of Tata Nano in the domestic market. But marginal changes in the car will not help the company much.”

Another analyst with a domestic brokerage, who did not want to be named, said, “Nano has not been successful since its launch. The perception about the product is also not good among the prospective buyers. There will be continuous pressure on Tata Motors to sell the car.”

As part of the upgrade, the company has revised the suspension of the car, including an anti-roll bar at the front, and improved steering mechanism. The company also extended the booster-assisted brakes available in the Nano CX and the LX to the Nano Standard as well, said a company statement.