MUMBAI,
India-- Ratan Tata, the chairman of Tata
Motors, has launched the Tata Nano, a compact car
,
which will sell for 100,000 rupees ($2,500 or £1,277), setting
the wold record for the cheapest
car.
Photo:
Motor boss Ratan Tata stands by his newest creation, the Nano,
world's
cheapest car
The four-door five-seater car, which
goes on sale later this year, has a 33bhp, 624cc, engine at
the rear.
It has no air conditioning, no electric
windows and no power steering, but two deluxe models will
be on offer.
Mr Tata said he had been inspired by his
fear for the safety of lower-middle-class families who ride
four and five to a bike on India's dangerous roads, often
with Sari-clad women sitting side-saddle while bouncing babies
on their knees.
The snub-nosed, 4-seater 623cc rear
engine car is an idea and dream project of Ratan Tata,
who seeks to place his car as a milestone in humanity's auto
history like Fords Model T, Volkswagens Beetle
and the British Motor Corps Mini.
The company has unveiled a lottery system
for prospective buyers of the first 100,000 cars, which it
said will hit the roads in July. Would-be buyers must purchase
application forms, and the successful applicants will be chosen
randomly. Those who are unsuccessful will remain on a waiting
list, with Tata hanging on to their cash.
The company also announced a State Bank
of India-backed scheme which will allow poor buyers to drive
home a Nano with an initial payment of around £40.
Tata
will initially make about 250,000 Nanos and expects eventual
annual demand of one million cars.
A European variant will be launched by 2011,
and the company is also looking at the United States, as the
current economic situation has made low-cost cars even more
attractive, even though that had not been the original intention.
The Nano can be booked at more than 30,000
locations in 1,000 cities across India, including Tata-owned
department and electronics stores, with booking forms costing
300 rupees each.
The price will be slightly more than the 100,000
once tax and other costs are taken into consideration. Photo:Tata
Motors has unveiled the world's cheapest motor car at India's
biggest car show in the capital Delhi last year.
The Nano release comes as India's domestic
car market is predicted to soar in the coming years on the
back of the country's fast-growing economy and increased consumer
wealth.
Indian
car sales are predicted to more than quadruple to $145bn by
2016. Company chairman Ratan Tata said the launch of the Nano
was a landmark in the history of transportation.
He said the car was "a safe, affordable
and all weather transport - a people's car, designed to meet
all safety standards and emissions laws and accessible to
all".
The Tata chief, who drove a white Nano to the
podium, said he had wanted to make "a safe, affordable and
all-weather transport -- a people's car, designed to meet
all safety standards and emissions laws and accessible to
all."
Environmental critics have said that the car will
lead to mounting air and pollution problems on India's already
clogged roads. But Tata said the car had passed emission standards
and would average about 50 miles to the gallon, or five litres
per hundred kilometres.
The firm also said it would introduce a
diesel version of the Nano at a later date.
Tata said he believed "India desperately needs
a mass transit system" but asked "should [ordinary Indians]
be denied the right to individual forms of transport?"
Auto analysts say the Nano could have a
major impact on the way global car firms think about costs.
It may "revolutionize car costs downward," said
Indian auto analyst Murad Ali Baig, adding that the Nano was
bound to be followed by other low-cost cars.
The car has sparked a race among global automakers
to come up with vehicles at rock-bottom prices to appeal to
the new lucrative segment of consumers in India and other
emerging markets.
Small cars comprise two-thirds of annual passenger
vehicle sales in India. The budget car's nearest rival --
the Maruti 800 from Japanese-owned Maruti Suzuki -- sells
for $4,800 US.
Tata, which has been on an aggressive overseas
expansion drive, is also expected to win its reported two-billion-dollar
bid for the British Land Rover and Jaguar brands.
TATA'S NANO specifications:
# 3.1m long, 1.5m wide, 1.6m high
# Can seat four to five people
# Meets European emission standards
# Costs 100,000 rupees ($2,500)
# Tata
hopes to eventually export the car
# Tata
Motors Ltd on Bombay Stock Exchange
