"Let me give you an example of how American auto manufacturers have not done an effective job at reverse innovation. Companies like Ford brought their global automobile platforms into India, thereby, becoming niche players in the premium segment. After all, only 5% of the Indian population can afford a Rs10 lakh ($20,000) car! In 2009, Tata Motors launched the Tata Nano -- the Rs1 lakh ($2,000) people's car. Multinational companies have to find a 10% solution to capture the full potential in urban India and a 1% solution to capture rural India. That is to say, if a product was to sell for $100 in US, a similar solution is needed for urban India at $10 and for rural India at $1. This is because of the income gap between US and India. The per capita income in India is about $1,000, whereas per capita income in US is about $50,000. That is why one needs the Tata Nano type of solutions to unlock new markets in India. The Tata Nano is targeted at the non-consumers of automobiles in India today, namely the two-wheeler population. The two-wheelers are priced at $1,500. By introducing an automobile for $2,000, Tata Motors plans to migrate the two-wheeler population into four-wheeler users. Creating new consumption requires new business models." - Mahesh from Bookmarklet