Murali Gopalan

Mumbai: Nobuhiko Kawamoto, the former president of Honda, was once asked the difference between the management styles of the Americans and Japanese.

Prompt came the reply, “They are mostly the same but differ in all important aspects.”

Rajiv Bajaj uses the same analogy to compare his $2,500 (and upwards) small car, being developed jointly with Renault and Nissan, to the Tata Nano.

The announcement on the three-way joint venture was made on Monday. Bajaj will hold 50% of the equity with Renault and Nissan taking up 25% each.

Codenamed ULC, the car will be produced at a new plant in Chakan near Pune. Sales will begin in 2011.

The managing director of Bajaj Auto told DNA that while the basic attributes of the car would obviously remain common with the Nano, he and his partners would focus on some particularly important aspects.

The first is in design and styling.

“It just cannot look like another car and needs to be in a class of its own,” Bajaj says.

The other critical point is to ensure an excellent cost of ownership in terms of fuel economy where “we are confident of a good breakthrough”. The car should also be easy to maintain.

However, what is especially relevant to Bajaj is that the car would adhere to the strictest emission norms prevalent worldwide.

His company already has an idea of what this means given that it is the largest Indian exporter of bikes today. As he puts it, to be worldclass means offering a unique package of top-class fuel economy, tight emissions (both of which reflect a good engine), superb quality and reasonable pricing.

It is in this context that the three partners are confident of having a “great portfolio of small cars for the world”.

Bajaj also believes that there is always a local reason that spawns excellence which explains why Belgium is famous for its chocolates and Switzerland for its watches. The same holds good for India’s bikes which could now be extended to the small car.

Source : DNA