Figure 3 – A Typical Traffic Scene in Urban India
Under these conditions, the design and introduction of Nano is both a marketing decision and an emotional decision. It is a marketing decision because there is a demand for an affordable small car among the middle class households and an emotional decision because it taps into the national pride. The semiotics of car design and marketing touches on various aspects of Indian social, cultural and emotional life. The whole enterprise is reminiscent of the introduction of Model-T Ford in the bygone era.
From Public Transportation to Private Vehicle
Many Indians travel in crowded public transportation. The spatial distance between passengers is very small in these congested environments. It is not uncommon to designate gender based spaces so males and females may not sit together. This gives some relief to females in crowded interiors. But this does not solve the problem completely because there are always more passengers than seats and people have to stand in crowded buses and commuter trains. However, Nano addresses this issue by designing a privately owned affordable vehicle.
Interior Space and Nano Design:
From Two Wheelers to an Automobile - First Time Car Ownership
In terms of Nano design, the problem of space is addressed in the following way. Since it is not a public transportation but a private vehicle, there is no issue of traveling in the company of strangers. Second, although the space in the Nano car is not luxurious, it is comfortable and better compared to the alternative i.e. public transportation or riding a two-wheeler with other family members. That is, the most common vehicle for most Indians is a two-wheeler and it’s not uncommon to see a family of three or four riding a motorized scooter or a motor bike (see Figure 4). In terms of macro conditions, we note that more than 40% of the Indian population would be in this socio-economic category (Bijapurkar 2008). Thus Nano provides an affordable and safer alternative for millions of those first time buyers who want to experience car ownership for the first time.
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