Driving demand

Those of us who do continue to drive in the 21st century still want to do it in style. In 2009 would‑be buyers of the Tata Nano had to enter a lottery to handle demand, but in 2010 sales slumped. Some claim it’s all in the marketing – not everyone wants to buy the “world’s cheapest car” (£1,364), because of what it says about them. The Tata Nano may be priced competitively, but its marketing needs to remember that people have aspirations too.

If environmental concerns don’t wipe out the driver, perhaps robotics will: already seven cars have travelled 1,600km with no driver and 225,000km with only occasional intervention, thanks to robotic drivers.

Source: Financial Times; New York Times

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