Tata Nano loses customer support in a recent survey

Tata motor's Nano has been ranked last among entry-level small cars in terms of customer satisfaction, according to a new study by market research firm TNS. In the '2010 Fourwheeler Total Customer Satisfaction (TCS)' study by TNS Automotive, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd's (MSIL) best selling model Alto topped the entry level small car category. Omni and the once bread-and-butter model M800 followed.

The customer expectations even at the bottom end are rising. The owners of Tata Nano expect more in terms of design and Maruti 800 owners expect better servicing, the survey said. While Alto scored 91 points, Nano got only 70, thus being placed last.

Nano has been facing issues following six cases of the car catching fire , since its launch in 2009. Tata Motors had offered to provide additional safety free of cost as a precautionary measure, although it claimed Nano to be safe.

In the higher priced cars segment, the survey reflected the Indian consumers respect for value even if the price is higher.

The study pointed out that car owners in Northern India are less satisfied compared to those in other parts, primarily because of after sales services as the age of the car grows. At the national level, the customers in the relatively larger cities are more satisfied than those in the smaller cities.

This may be a reflection of the growing expectations in the smaller cities.

The manufacturers will do well to understand those, TNS said. Apart from the entry level compact car segment, MSI's Zen Estilo and A-Star jointly topped the premium compact car category in customer satisfaction.

While Volkswagen's (VW) Polo and MSIL's Swift together became the number one in the upper premium strata, Swift DZiRE was ranked as the numero uno in the entry-level midsized sedan segment.

Other models that topped in different segments are Toyota Corolla Altis in the premium midsized sedan, VW Passat in the entry-level luxury sedan, Toyota Innova and Mahindra Scorpio jointly in the SUV and MUV and Honda CR-V in the premium SUV categories.