Indians use big cars to move a single person, and the fate met by Tata Nano was unfortunate, Mahindra and Mahindra MD Pawan Goenka said on Saturday.
He also conceded that the automobile industry does add to pollution, and pitched for adopting all the means to reduce it.
The Tatas have discontinued the Nano after poor response to its 600-cc Rs 1 lakh car. Many experts have blamed the product’s utilitarian product pitch in a country where owning a car is seen as a lifestyle necessity as a reason for its failure.
“It is very unfortunate that the Nano didn’t do very well,” Goenka said, speaking at an alumni event organised by his alma mater IIT-Kanpur here.
He said Indians weighing 65-70 kg use an entire 1,500 kg car to travel individually, hinting at the wastage of resources that go into making the big car move. “We need to have personal transport that is more tuned to moving a single person,” he said.
Keeping the same requirement in mind, Goenka said his company has launched a smaller car, which should be hitting the market soon.
He also acknowledged that automobiles contribute 7 per cent of the carbon dioxide emissions and every effort should be made to reduce the impact.