Tata rolls out world's cheapest car, "Nano"

Tata Motors Ltd., India’s largest automaker, unveiled Thursday the long speculated Rs 100,000 (US$ 2,500) car, turning millions of motorcycle riders’ dream of having a car into reality.

The new car, dubbed the "Nano", is touted by the automaker as the world’s cheapest car. Tata Group’s Chairman Ratan N Tata today showcased his dream car at the Delhi auto show, shattering the perception of those people who claimed Rs. 1 lakh car is nothing but a 'myth'.

Tata asserts Nano, the People’s car, will be exceptionally attractive to Indian consumers, especially the younger families, at a price level of nearly Rs 100,000, and will likely revolutionize the way how the nation of more than one billion people travels.

Tata Motors rolled out its cheapest car nearly seventeen months after it announced its intensions to launch a compact, no-frills vehicle, which would create a new example in low-cost personal transport, carve out a new market segment and reach a broader base of the pyramid.

In June, 2006, the Mumbai-based automaker had announced that it will launch Rs 100,000 car in early 2008. "The car will cost one lakh and only because a promise is a promise," said Tata as he demonstrated the Nano at the Auto Expo 08.

The four-door car has five seats and a 624cc 33bhp engine mounted in the back, and will give a mileage of 20 kilometers on a liter of gasoline. The Nano is 8 percent smaller externally than the Maruti 800, a 25-year old model from rival Maruti Suzuki, but claims to have 21 percent more space on the inside.

The basic model of Tata Nano, which will go on sale later this year, has no air conditioning, no power windows and no power steering, although two deluxe versions will be available.

"Let me assure you and our critics the car we have designed will meet all safety norms and all foreign environmental criteria... and will have a lower pollution level than even a two-wheeler being manufactured in India today," said Chairman Ratan Tata. He compared the launch of dream car to turning point in history of transportation, like the first powered flight by the Wright brothers and the first lunar landing.

Although, the car will come at a price of Rs one lakh, but taxes and profit margins will push up the price. However, it will still cost almost half as much as Suzuki's Maruti 800, the cheapest car on today's market.