Visitors queue up outside the Tata Motors pavilion to see the Nano at the Delhi auto expo. (AP)

New Delhi, Jan. 13: The Nano’s main attraction — its low price — could deter some buyers in a status-conscious age, experts say.

Lalu Prasad’s Garib Rath trains that offer AC travel at discount fares provide an example. They have been spurned by many travellers unwilling to be associated with the word “garib (poor)”.

The Nano is better placed thanks to its futuristic name, brand appeal and sleek design, yet the low price tag could make some middle-class buyers hesitate, consumer behaviour experts said.

“Those who can afford another car are unlikely to pick this up as their first car,” said Prafulla Agnihotri, marketing professor at IIM Calcutta. But he said the same people might buy it as an additional car for the household.

“It could become quite popular as a second or third car, perhaps for a college-going daughter or to send a child for tuition,” said Srinivas Prakhya, faculty member at IIM Bangalore.

But for some, even that may not be an option. “For instance, even as a second car, I’d rather pick something with a different image than ‘the world’s cheapest car’,” Agnihotri said.

The reception to the Garib Rath (Chariot of the Poor), launched by Lalu Prasad in October 2006, may provide clues to the thinking of middle-class and lower middle-class Indians in a time of economic boom.

“The poor thought the name was derogatory. For the not-so-poor, it was below their dignity,” a railway official said.

Rajan, a passenger who had travelled on the train between Patna and Hazrat Nizamuddin, wrote back to the railways: “People don’t want to tell someone they would be travelling by this train because of (its) name…. Please change the name.”

Another passenger, Dr Khalid Hameed, wrote “people… are more status conscious (now)” and suggested several alternative names: “New Gen Exp or Youth Exp or Budhjeevi Rath or VIP Exp or Honeymoon Exp or Safari or Valentine Exp….”

“We considered changing the name but the minister was adamant since it had been his idea,” the official said.

A Dubai-based banker, Sahbab Azmi, travelled from Hazrat Nizamuddin to Lucknow in the Garib Rath but vowed never to do that again.

“My friends mocked me so much…. Even six months after the journey, they still joke about me being poor,” he said.

The Nano, however, will be welcomed by many families in the targeted population for whom owning a car itself could mean a rise in status, social psychologists said.

“In the 1980s, we saw the rise of colour TVs; in the past decade we’ve seen the proliferation of mobile phones. Now it could be the turn of low-cost cars,” said Girishwar Misra, a psychology professor at Delhi University.

“People are delighted when their expectations are met,” said Narendra Sharma, a consumer psychology expert at IIT Kanpur.

“People will say ‘Here’s someone who promised something and made it happen’, and they’re going to want to somehow become part of it.”

On the street, the enthusiasm for Nano is palpable, not least among auto drivers.

“I want this car for my own use. I’d like to spend our Sundays in this car,” said Narinder Kumar, 42.

Three-wheeler drivers are wondering whether the government might approve the Nano for use as a taxi. “Sure, I’d like to shift from an auto to a car,” said Om Prakash, waiting to pick up passengers near Parliament House.

The Nano’s fuel-efficiency will keep fares lower than those for other cabs. “But women travelling alone often prefer an open vehicle like an auto instead of a closed car for safety reasons,” Prakash said.

The Garib Rath, charging 35 per cent less than the AC III-tier fares in other trains, has had other problems apart from its name.

Its coaches have more seats and berths, so there’s less leg and head room and fewer toilets. There are no pantry cars and passengers must pay extra for bed-sheets or blankets.

Those who travel in unreserved sleeper class still find the fares too high — by about 20 per cent.

Only the Mumbai-Delhi train has done relatively well at 95 per cent occupancy. Minister of state R. Velu told Parliament in July 2007 that the average occupancy was 64 per cent for the Saharsa-Amritsar Garib Rath Express; 55 per cent for Patna-Nizamuddin and 39 per cent for Chennai-Nizamuddin.

Velu did not mention the period for which the averages had been calculated. But railway officials say many Garib Raths now go full, with seats waitlisted.

“We have reworked some routes. Often, those who can’t get reservation elsewhere travel by the Garib Rath,” an official said.

“It’s not by choice but by compulsion. And for small-time businessmen and traders, it’s not so much a question of status as of utility.”