Reference Auto

Can Piaggio’s tiny (or micro) car, the NT3, vie with Tata Motors iconic small car, the Nano? Although the prices could be similar, the size may put these cars in two discrete categories altogether. Piaggio, the Italian scooter and three-wheeler giant, unveiled the NT3 at the Milan Motorcycle Show recently.

The NT3 is far smaller than the Tata Nano, has three seats, with the driver’s position placed right at the centre. It is just 2.4 metres long, making it easy to park on the crowded city roads. In contrast, the Nano’s length is almost 31 metres.

The car is likely to have 200 or 300 cc engine and could seat three passengers. In comparison, the Nano, has an over 600 cc engine and can seat up to five passengers. The NT3 is likely to be priced nearly Rs 1.5 lakh and the latest buzz is that it will roll out from the Baramati plant near Pune from where Piaggio’s cargo and passenger three-wheelers along with the new four-wheeler mini pick-up are manufactured.

The NT3, with the 200cc engine, will have a maximum speed of 60 km/hour while the 300 cc one will come with a maximum speed of 80km/hour. This variant could be a hybrid car and the company is believed to be mulling an electric motor in future.

The NT3 is based on the Ape platform and Piaggio’s sources have revealed that the car could roll out within three years.

Ravi Chopra, chairman and managing director of Piaggio India, said from Milan, “This marks the first phase of innovation. The next step would be to work on cost-effective manufacturing technologies to make the NT3 competitive. The third phase will involve retail and brand strategies.”

Will the Piaggio NT3 be able to eat into the Nano’s market which is already facing pressure, forcing Tata Motors to buy (exchange) two-wheelers to keep the small car’s sales ticking? Tata’s iconic small car (Nano) sales failed to pick up even during the festive season and only 3,000 units rolled out in the last one month. However, the motorcycles market is sizzling. For instance, in October Suzuki Motorcycle India registered a mind-blowing 60.51 per cent growth in sales at 25,439 units against 15,849 units in October 2009.

So, if the above figures are anything to go by, the Piaggio NT3 is unlikely to dent the bikes market and even if it eats into Tata Nano’s sales, it is unlikely to take the roads by storm or shore up the earnings of Piaggio India substantially. Moreover, although parking and manoeuvring will be easy, the Piaggio NT3 may make its driver feel lost on India’s inundated roads, forcing car buffs to stay away.

But the European countries could lap it up as it has an inclination for small cars (in contrast to the US market where small cars hardly find a place).

On the flip side though, the Piaggio NT3 is expected to be a low-consumption, low-polluting car that can offer a fuel efficiency of over 30km/litre. So, which way will buyers go?