Ratan Tata drove in the Nano, the much awaited Rs.100,000 ($2,500) ‘people’s car’, into the podium in Tata Motor’s pavilion at the Auto Expo 2008 in New Delhi, heralding the launch of the world’s cheapest car.
India’s top vehicle makers say it will roll out the new vehicle later this year. This is really a great achievement in transportation sector.
Chairman Ratan Tata, after driving the long-awaited car on to the stage at the Auto Expo in the capital, told the audience that it would have a dealer price of Rs.100,000 ($2,500) as promised five years ago, even though commodity prices had gone up.
“That’s because a promise is a promise,” Tata said.
The car, a hatchback with a 624cc engine, is priced at about half that of the current cheapest car in the market, and is a sharp contrast to the luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands that Tata is negotiating to buy from Ford Motor Co.
Tata Motors will also roll out diesel variants at a later stage, Chairman Ratan Tata told reporters at a media conference.
The 33-horsepower, 624-cc Nano will come at a dealer price of Rs.100,000. This, despite rise in the price of inputs such as steel since the project was started four years ago, Tata said at the launch.
Tata also said that Nano fully meets safety and emission standards. The car has passed the full frontal crash test and meets Euro-IV emission norms, he added.
“R.K. Pachauri can stop having nightmares and Sunita Narain can sleep well tonight,” Tata said, alluding to the environmental activists’ concerns on the car’s adverse impact on the environment.
“The vehicle can accommodate four-five people,” he said.
Absolute chaos marked the launch of the car, with at least 1,000 members of the media corps struggling to gain entry into Tata Motor’s pavilion.
Nano, which at Rs.100,000 will cost less than a branded DVD player of a BMW or a Mercedes, will be available to customers later in the year.
The car will be manufactured at the company’s Singur facility in West Bengal.
The launch is a part of the group’s plans to showcase as many as 17 models of cars, utility vehicles, trucks and busses, Tata officials said.
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