NEW DELHI: Nano, the small car from the Tatas, is projected to become India’s second best selling car next year, according to market research firm JD Power.

According to a report by JD Power, Nano will replace Hyundai’s i10, which is slated to take the second position in 2010 after Maruti Suzuki’s Alto. Tata Motor’s Indica will be the third best seller this year.
“...the Nano is projected to hold the number two spot in 2011 after Tata ramps up production,” JD Power Asia Pacific forecasting senior market analysts Mr Marvin Zhu and Mr Ammar Master said in a joint article.
“By 2017, we think the top three models will be the Alto, Nano and Maruti Suzuki Wagon R,” it said.
Currently Alto is the highest selling car brand in the country, selling on an average of 25,000 units every month. As per the report, the combined sales of mini and sub-compact vehicles would be 9,97,000 units in 2010, increasing to 3.14 million units by 2017.
The size of the Indian domestic passenger car market stood at over 15 lakh units in 2009-10 and it is growing at a rate of about 30 per cent every month in this fiscal.
Tata Motors had launched the Nano, touted as the world’s cheapest car, in 2009 and is currently delivering the first lot of one lakh cars to the customers.
It produces the car from Sanand in Gujarat and the facility has an installed capacity to produce 2.5 lakh units annually.
While the Nano managed to draw attention of the world, of late it has been in the news for wrong reasons with six incidents of the car catching fire across the country since its commercial launch in March 2009.