The Nano: Big news about a tiny car

One small step for Tata, one giant leap for autokind?

So what's the car of a million dreams across India?

If Tata Motors has it right, it will be the Nano: a cut-rate engineering marvel with a rear engine and front trunk space. Oh, and a price tag of about $2,000.

The tiny Nano will lack many of the standard accoutrements of cars in the West.

It won't have airbags or back-seat safety belts. There won't be power steering or an anti-lock brake system. But with a base price of 100,000 rupees, middle-class India may just stampede its way to car-dealerships when orders for the Nano begin in mid-April.

“The euphoria over the Nano is unmatched,” said Premanand Shenoy, chief executive of the Prerna Motors, a Tata dealer in Bangalore. “We have already held staff meetings on how to handle the thousands of people expected to walk in that day.”

The Nano project took off after Ratan Tata — the famed chairman of the Indian conglomerate that spans salt, steel and software — promised to build a “people’s car" for the masses now driving two-wheelers.

In India’s traffic-clogged city roads, millions ride on scooters and motorcycles — with sometimes as many as four or five people hanging precariously to the same vehicle.

The Nano aims to fulfill middle-class India’s desire to own a car, helping the not-so-rich claw their way up another rung of prosperity. Analysts estimate that latent demand for a low-priced car could boost the Indian car market's size by 65 percent, even in the face of a slowing economy.

Nirupa Venkatesh, a Bangalore-based dentist, is eager to order the Nano as the family’s second car. She and her husband, a gynecologist, already own a Toyota SUV.

“I want the Nano because it is cheap and (the) best,” said Venkatesh, who like many price-conscious Indians wants a no-frills product. She will use the car to shop, run errands and drop her 9-year old daughter off at school.

Bajaj low cost US$ 2500 small car delayed

Bajaj says that its low cost US$ 2500 small car project has been delayed by around 5-6 months. This means that the car may not be able to see the light in 2011 as was being expected.

The car had given hope that the race for cheap car would not remain confined to Tata’s Nano car that is slated to be launched in April. Nano too has been delayed by several months.

Tata Motors had announced to launch its lakhtakiya (RS 1 lakh) car last October. But so far the company has not been able to launch the car.

Bajaj Auto in association with Renault SA, Nissan Motor Co. had said in January last month that they were going to throw competition to Ratan Tata’s pet project Nano. The two companies had said that that they would collaborate to produce a small car that would cost around $2,500 (Rs1 lakh at that time’s exchange rate), making it the second car in the world and in India with ambitions to be the cheapest four-wheeler on the road.

It was said at that time that the three firms will set up a joint venture company in which India’s No. 2 motorbike maker, Bajaj, will hold the single largest majority with half the ownership, while partners Nissan and Renault will hold a quarter each. On sale from 2011, the cars—some 400,000 of them each year—will be produced in Maharashtra, at Chakan, near the existing manufacturing facilities of both Bajaj and Renault.

But now Rajiv Bajaj says: "The project remains largely on schedule, though in the course of development some specifications have been reviewed, leading to adjustments in the overall schedule." It had been reported in a section of the media that the ultra low-cost (ULC) project would be delayed by more than a year as Rajiv Bajaj was not happy with the work done so far, and he demanded major modification in the design.

Rajiv Bajaj went on to add “Bajaj has primary responsibility for the design, development, manufacturing, and supply chain activities of this project. Bajaj is proceeding as before to implement this project and any financial or other constraints that Renault-Nissan may have, have no bearing on the ability of Bajaj to implement this project".

Tata Nano to be launched on March 23

Tata Motors on Thursday announced that the much-awaited Tata Nano will be launched at a function in Mumbai on March 23, 2009.

The cars will be on display at Tata Motors dealerships from the first week of April 2009. Bookings will commence from the second week of April 2009.



Since it's unveiling on January 10, 2008, the Tata Nano has evoked an unprecedented interest in the country, with its Web site having recorded over 30 million hits in the past one year and the creation of over 6,000 interest groups and communities.

Tata Motors is making arrangements for the widest possible network to book the car, so that prospective customers can conveniently avail of booking facilities at their locations, across the length and breadth of India. The booking process and other details will be announced on March 23, 2009.

Tata's Nano project finds a home

India's giant Tata Group has found a new home to build the world's cheapest car, cosseted by assurances that the project's past traumas with land disputes and political infighting are over.

By choosing to take its "Nano" car factory to the business-friendly state of Gujarat, after abandoning the original site in West Bengal, Tata has sent a message that a stable investment climate is a pre-requisite for participation in India's economic growth.

In an interview published Wednesday in the Economic Times, group chairman Ratan Tata attacked what he saw as the political manipulation behind protests by local farmers that forced the pull-out from West Bengal.

"Political opposition should be subordinated to the better welfare of the country," Tata said, suggesting that those who backed the protestors did not necessarily have their best interests at heart.

"Who is the loser? Are the people really going to prosper, many of whom live below subsistence levels?" he said. "What about the people who had aspirations for jobs? These are the questions that come to my mind."

The decision to move the plant -- which was 90 percent complete -- followed a month of violent demonstrations by activists and evicted farmers who complained they had been forced to give up their land for a pittance to make room for the Nano factory.

Some farmers said their signatures handing over their land were forged by workers from West Bengal's governing communist party.

The issue provided a rallying point for social activists and opposition parties hoping to break the Marxists' 31-year rule in the state.

The Nano has attracted worldwide attention due to its planned price tag of just 100,000 rupees (2,100 dollars) and, as soon as it became clear that Tata was considering relocating, a number of states rushed to compete for the project.

The agreement with Gujarat was formalised on Tuesday, and Ratan Tata said the choice was largely rooted in the state's ability to provide the necessary land immediately.

"Gujarat was able to define the land, secure possession of the land, the main thing, at an unbelievably fast rate," he said.

"In fact, if we could move the plant in a day, we could have actually started operating here, given the fact that everything was ready," he added.

Gujarat is one of India's most industrialised states and has a relatively sound infrastructure that has already attracted a number of multinationals.

The Nano plant will make 250,000 Nanos a year, rising to 500,000, the company says. However, it is not clear when production will begin.

The group had hoped to launch the car by December at the latest, but Tata officials admitted Tuesday that a more realistic timeframe lay between January and March next year.

The first batch of Nanos will be rolled out from existing Tata Motors plants elsewhere in India in what Ratan Tata described as a "makeshift kind of operation".

He also insisted that the 350 million dollars Tata had already pumped into the West Bengal plant was in no sense a write-off loss.

"All the equipment will be moved, so there is no loss there. We can also retrieve and utilise a fair amount of the fixed assets," he said.

The tussle over the Nano site was one of many recent land disputes in India.

The struggles have pitted the interests of farmers, who say they will starve without their land, against those of business and India's government, which say the country needs to industrialise rapidly.

Tata considers all-new site for Nano production, protests at Sangur continue

After recent protests at its nearly constructed plant turned violent, India's Tata Motors is now heavily considering moving its production facilities from Singur in the state of West Benegal to the region of Karnataka in the south of India. Authorities from Tata confirmed the southern state offered 1,000 acres for the reestablishment of the automaker's Nano car production plant.

Prior to Tata finishing the plant's construction, local farmers had been protesting the arrival of Tata Motors for several years. They claim the automotive giant forcefully took their farmlands without consent and demand the return of their land. Government officials, though, say they can't return it due to it being already developed for automotive production.

In order to satisfy the locals, the West Senegal authorities offered to increase their compensation by 50 percent, but its was quickly refused by the lead opposition political party, the Trinamool Congress.

"In case we were thinking of relocating the plant from Singur he (Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa) would give all necessary support and assistance and incentives to make it happen," Tata Motors spokeswoman Ravi Kent stated. "We are watching the situation and actively looking at alternatives."

Tata had originally planned for its first run of Nano ultra-economy cars to roll off the assembly lines in October, but give the current situation, timetables have surely been delayed. Even with costs of raw materials on the rise and this latest debacle to deal with, Tata officials maintain the Nano will keep its 100,000 rupee ($2,500) price point.

Europe awaiting Nano car’s electric version

Though the fate of Tata Motors’ Nano plant at Singur in West Bengal still hangs in a limbo, nations around the world still want to see the cheapest car driving on their roads at the earliest; preferably in its battery-operated, environment-friendly version.

“I can say that alike other nations, entire Europe is also eagerly awaiting the commercial launch of Nano. But keeping in mind the adverse impact of carbon dioxide (Co2) on environment, it would be advisable to have Nano’s electric version. I hope Tata (Ratan) is working on it,” said European Commission’s Director General for Energy and Transport Matthias Ruete.

Emission-free transport

Talking to The Hindu during his recent visit to India, where he forged ties for cooperation in the field of energy and transport between the European Union and India, Mr. Ruete said keeping in mind the growing cost of fuel, electric (battery operated) engine was the only solution to emission-free transport.

Informing that European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, has been working on a sustainable transport policy that aims at reducing of Co2 emissions and transform public transport, Mr. Ruete said decades ago the industry favoured combustion engine over electric engine as the price of fuel was never an issue, but things have changed now.

Moving backwards

“We are now moving backwards. And once we get the right battery technology for our automotive industry, we will be moving back directly to electric cars or indirectly to fuel cells or hydrogen-operated vehicles,” he added.

Predicting that in another 20 years electric cars will enjoy a good share in the market, Mr. Ruete said new efficient trams were being developed.

“I think soon logistics and delivery system in cities would be shifted to electric vehicles. More hi-speed trains would become integral part of public transport. The whole transport industry and businesses are working on developing new fuel-efficient models. We are also working on finding an alternative to kerosene,” he said, underlying the efforts being taken by the EU to reduce emissions.

Intermediate steps

Talking about alternate source of fuel, Mr. Ruete said bio-fuels or other source like CNG or LPG were only intermediate steps that can could work with existing technologies, but more comprehensive solutions were needed.

Stating that there was no necessary link between higher food prices and bio-fuels, though it might have a link in case of corn, Mr. Ruete said EU wanted that land being used for food production should not be used for bio-fuel production.

“We have to make sure that wasteland and spare land are used for bio-fuel production. We need to have an overall balance. We need to generate second generation bio-fuels from straw or other materials,” he added.

Setback for country if Nano forced out of WB: Industry leaders

Top industry leaders today warned that the country would suffer a big setback if Tata Motors was forced to withdraw the small car project from West Bengal.

Joining the ranks of protesters from the industry against the threat to industry, two days after RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani threw his weight behind Tatas, were Sunil Mittal, Jamshyd Godrej, C K Birla, Gautam Thapar, Venu Srinivasan apart from K V Kamath, President of CII.

"Tatas pulling out of West Bengal would be unfortunate for India...immediate political dialogue to find a solution towards keeping the project in West Bengal is imperative," Bharti Chairman and Group CEO Sunil Mittal said.

If the house of Tatas, known for its values and care for society, can face such resistance, the much needed fresh wave of industrialisation in the country would suffer, he added.

Expressing similar views, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Jamshyd N Godrej said,"... Nano's moving out would be a setback for not just West Bengal but for the entire country."

The small car project was a statement of the coming of age of Indian manufacturing, he said, adding "it is, therefore, very unfortunate that the entire project is facing a political situation which it does not warrant".

Sundaram Clayton Managing Director Venu Srinivasan said the controversy which was effectively stalling an 'iconic project' like the Nano was very unfortunate.

"We have in Ratan Tata one of the most socially conscious business leaders of our times. Their record of caring for all stakeholders in general and the community in particular is unparallelled. Considering the national importance of this project, it would be unfortunate if political considerations, come in the way of India's progress," Srinivasan said.

Orissa opens doors to Nano project

Hours after Ratan Tata threatened to pull the Nano car project out of Singur, both ruling and opposition parties here in Orissa on Friday have declared that the state’s doors are open for the Tatas to shift their much awaited Rs 1 lakh car project.

Unlike the conflict between the Left Front government and the opposition Trinamool Congress over Tatas project at Singur in West Bengal , both the ruling BJD-BJP and opposition Congress in Orissa spoke in one voice to welcome Tata’s Nano project.

“If they come forward to set up car project here, Orissa government will provide all kinds of support ,” said state Industry minister and senior BJP leader B B Harichandan . The state government would not say no to the small car project by Tata at Gopalpur, where the company’s huge chunk of lands remains unutilised, he said.

Tata open to Fiat selling Nano abroad

TATA Motors Ltd is open to Italy’s Fiat SpA helping to sell the low-cost Nano model overseas, chairman Ratan Tata said on Tuesday.

Tata, India’s third- largest car maker, plans to launch the Nano later this year, priced at about $ 2,500 (Rs 1 lakh). “We have held talks about the Nano being marketed in markets where Fiat already has a strong presence. I am open to consider a partnership,” Tata said.

Fiat has a joint venture with Tata to manufacture and distribute cars, engines and commercial vehicles. Tata also said the Tata group was in talks with Italian defence and aerospace company Finmeccanica SpA about supplying helicopter parts. The head of Fiat’s Iveco truck unit told an Italian newspaper in May he expected to resume talks with Tata on possible accords after the India partner completed its acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover.

Tata's New car: "NANO"

Ratan Tata today unveiled, what is perhaps the most-hyped four-wheeler of the year at the Auto Expo show in New Delhi. Nano is priced at Rs 1 lakh, excluding taxes.