OMG, Tata sure brings back some bad memories. They launched the Tata pickup in Fiji back in 1995-1997. Looked a bit like Toyota Hilux but a bit more flimsy and less powerful. It was almost 3,000 dollars cheaper as well.
They managed to sell some in Fiji , Fiji Indians generally responded well to Indian products and this was the first major one.
Afraid to say, all the pickups had clutch problems. Clutch plates use to burn within 12 months. replacements were made but they developed the same problems in another 12 months !! This time , Tata motors refused to identify as a factory fault, instead of blaming the road conditions
and reckless driving as the root cause. When it was pointed out that , Toyota Hilux, Nissan Navara and Holden Rodeo dont have the problems, they simply shrugged their shoulders.
A class action was filed in 1997, and a few months afer, Tata simply packed up and left, closing all its warehouses almost overnight. The Pickups simply had no spare parts .
Needless to say, it was huge public relations disaster. Not to be outdone, the Fiji Motor association successfully sued in NZ and Aust high courts and the Tata's South pacific license was cancelled !!
Now the Nano is released, hopefully they would have cleaned up their act. Having said that, the new generation of Fiji Indians now run away from anything Made in India
(barring bollywood of course)