Ratan Tata unveils Rs 1-lakh ‘Nano’
Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata unveiled on 10 th Jan 2008 the Rs.1-lakh car named ‘Nano’. Ratan Tata delivered on the promise he made four years ago with the launch of the “people’s car” at the inaugural day of the Auto Expo 2008. The world’s cheapest car from the Tata Motors comes with a rear mounted all-aluminium two-cylinder 623 cc petrol engine, promises a mileage of 20 km per litre, and meets all emission and safety standards.
Nano is 3.1-metre long, 1.5-metre wide, and 1.6-metre high. And it is eight per cent smaller than Maruti 800 and it is 21 per cent more spacious from inside. Nano comes in an all sheet-metal body, with safety features such as crumple zones, intrusion-resistant doors, seat-belts, strong seats and anchorages, and rear tailgate glass bonded to the body. It has a lower pollution level than two-wheelers.
Christened Tata Nano, the four-seater will be available in the market by the second half of this financial year in three variants, standard and two luxury models with an air-conditioner. The car will be sold with a four-speed manual transmission, but work is on for an automatic transmission as also for a diesel engine. The standard model will cost Rs.1 lakh while VAT and transportation costs are extra.
Ratan Tata said that Tata Motors had spent Rs 1,500-1,700 crore for this car project, including the proposed plant in Singur in West Bengal and the initial target production volume would be 250,000 cars per annum on two shifts and expandable to 350,000 per annum on three shifts.
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