Nano Steps and Giant Leaps?

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As I write this, Delhis Pragati Maidan is witness to the most action-packed and over-crowded auto show in Indias history. The Ninth Auto Expo winds down in a few days, and over a million visitors would have thronged the halls, gawking at automotive beauties, Indian and foreign, mechanical and human, the former in spiffy shapes, colors and specs, the latter in stunning microskirts.


Prasanto K Roy
pkr@cybermedia.co.in

And, of course, at the Nano. The "Rs 1 lakh car", the new middle-class dream. $2,500 for a fully functional, snazzy, bright, four-door hatchback that seats five. Rear-mounted two-cylinder aluminum Euro IV-ready engine. Half the price of the cheapest car in the world, a stark contrast to the luxury Jaguar marquee that Tata is trying to buy from Ford.

Some might suspect the "one lakh car" to be a bit like the Rs 10k PC: a mythical beast. Rs 1 lakh is the dealer price: taxes and insurance will add over 20% to the price, and basic frills like stereo or aircon will up the sticker price further. And theres inflation (the Maruti 800 was sub-Rs 50k when it was first introduced).

Even so: this is a breakthrough. All that the design team had as a target was the price tag, and the goal of a fully-functional car that met safety and environment norms. The five-year design effort generated 34 patent filings and other design and materials innovations, and validated Indias emergence as a growing automotive design and manufacturing hub.

The same month saw a couple of portable-computing launches that represented a nearly-similar pricing breakthrough in the world of computing.

The first of these was a Rs 15k laptop from Mumbai-based ACi, with a Via processor and a 40 GB hard drive. The second, five days later, was the Rs 14k MiLeap X laptop from HCL, with a 2 GB flash drive, running an Intel chipset (and similar to Intels Classmate PC). Both laptops featured a 7" screen, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and Linux. Both companies have a higher-end notebook running Vista, at Rs 22k (ACi) and Rs 30k (HCLs MiLeap Y series).

Though ACi did it first, its HCL which will probably shake up the market in the months ahead, with its sheer reach. HCL changed the mobiles market with its Nokia distribution network and structure, building up 100,000 retail points in 5,300 towns. It is now leveraging that network for lifestyle products, including iPods and, soon, the iPhone. HCLs retail network will be a key to the success of the MiLeap laptops.

Nano steps, a pricing breakthrough, a compelling product that serves a need and fills a gap; and you might just have a giant leap for an industry and a nation.




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