Video: Test Driving Tata Nano

Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car

NANO, the world's cheapest car is to hit India's streets in July 2009. The car will retail for just over $2,000 and can be yours, if you live in India and are very lucky, by July, Tata Motors said Monday.

The car, aptly called the people's car was to be on the roads just for Indian Rs.100,000 as planned by Ratan Tata. But the manufacturing schedule of the car was delayed due to the problems Tata Motors' Nano Car Plant in West Bengal faced in 2008, because of which the plant had to be closed down and relocated outside West Bengal. Though tagged at Rs.100,000, it could cost Rs.130,000 for the standard version when it is on the road. Read the initial hiccups NANO faced because of the problems in its plant.

Tata Nano may pull out of West Bengal

Ratan Tata on Friday, 22 August, 2008 threatened to shut the Tata Nano cars project in West Bengal if it continues to be haunted by violence. Tata said that it is for the people of West Bengal and Kolkata to decide whether Tata Motors is unwanted, or accept as a good corporate citizen and if it is the latter, then it is good. He said that if it was the other, then it would be impossible to alter the plan, following which Tata Motors would have to make a move out of West Bengal despite whatever investments have been already made in the Nano car project.

Tata told reporters that Rs 1500 crore of investments had already been made in the car project. "If anybody is under the impression that we have made this investment and will not move, they are wrong.” He added, "We are deeply concerned at the violence and disruption and at the safety of our employees, equipment and investments... at Singur," he said ruling out alteration of project plan as demanded by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.

Asked about the reason for moving, he said, “I can’t bring our managers and their families to West Bengal if they are going to be beaten, if there is violence constantly. If their children are going to be afraid to go to school, and I am sure that is not what West Bengal is”.

On other problems faced by Tata Motors, he said, “our compound walls have been broken, hordes of people are coming in, materials are being stolen. We can’t build and operate a plant under police protection. If that is the way it is to be before we start, we can imagine our concern on what will happen once we start to operate”.

On 400 acres of land earmarked for the ancillary units, Tata said that the small car 'Nano' was a unique product. "It is necessary to incorporate the ancillary units in the same location to keep the logistics cost low." A total of 55 vendors are located near the mother plant, which was coming up on 600 acres.

West Bengal had been long ignored by industrial houses, including the Tatas. It may be recalled that once Kolkata was known to many as the business capital of India. But following problems similar to what the Tata Motors face now, most of the Industries in West Bengal moved out of West Bengal to other states.

But the states fortunes started looking up recently when the investors felt their industries are safe in West Bengal. According to an Assocham report, West Bengal is currently among the top preferred destinations alongside Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Rajasthan. During the first six months of this year, the capacity expansion plans by corporates amount to a whopping $243 billion. West Bengal for its part attracted investments of $19.26 billion in steel, hospitality and manufacturing sectors. The Tatas too have made substantial investment in the state and a pull out at this time will cost Tata Motors dearly. But West Bengal will be the biggest loser.

There is no way Tata Nano, the people's family car, the world’s cheapest car rolls out of the Singur plant on schedule later this year, if the political agitation lead by Mamata Banerjee continues. This will be a serious loss for West Bengal that needs to generate jobs for the unemployed youths in West Bengal. If Tata Motors relocates out of West Bengal, the ancillary units will also move out. And if a clean group like the Tatas is forced to move out, the scope of other industrialists settling up shops in west Bengal will be very bleak.

The other States are keen to welcome Ratan Tata and Tata Motors. Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the Chief Minister of Haryana, said, “Why not? It is a prestigious project. We will welcome him to Haryana”. Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh said, “Andhra Pradesh Government is ready to offer all incentives required for Tatas to locate their car plant here”. A senior official of the Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s office said, “Orissa Government had already proposed the Tatas to set up a second automobile plant in the state”. And B C Khanduri, Uttaranchal Chief Minister said, “We have not yet received any proposal from Tata Motors with regard to setting up of a Nano plant”.

Asked whether the company would be able to roll out the Nano within the stipulated deadline of October-December quarter of 2008, Tata said "it is our desire to do so."

Tata Nano, the people’s family car

Ratan Tata’s brainchild, the people’s family car, Nano, has captured the imagination of innovators and critics alike, as it is a car with futuristic design cues. The “Rs 1 lakh wonder” from Tata Motors will help the man on the street to move from 2-wheelers to 4-wheelers (Rs 1 lakh = US$ 2360, taking Rs/$ at 42.35, the rate on August 2, 2008.) At Tata Motors’ Singur plant technicians are honing their skills in putting together this “623 cc Rs 1700 crore concept” (Rs 1700 crore = US$ 400 million approximately). On July 29, 2008, the engineers at Singur assembled the first Tata Nano and celebrated in a ceremony, complete with garlands and brass lamps.

“We are happy to present the people’s car to India and we hope it brings the joy, pride and utility of owning a car to families who need personal mobility”, said Ratan Tata on January 10, 2008 while showcasing the Nano. The Tata Nano is one such car that promises to put the entire nation on 4-wheels. With its beautiful looks, the world’s cheapest car, Nano has been the talk of the town around the globe.

As automobiles experts see, the Nano may compete with Maruti 800 as its main rival, and Alto and Zen Estilo may mark out some design and packaging aspects. To compare, Nano is about 230 mm shorter than Maruti 800, the wheelbase has advantage of 155 mm over Maruti Suzuki 800, 60 mm advantage in width and about 100 mm in height over Maruti. So you get more legroom, better shoulder room and more space over your head!

Nano’s mono-volume design is a better change over the two-box layout of the Maruti 800. The bonnet line is steep and joins with the bumper seamlessly. The fog lamps are in the bumper. Profile-wise, the Nano resembles Mitsubishi’s latest small car ‘i’. The tail lamps seem to be a redesign of Tata Indica’s tail lamps. The back side of the Nano looks attractive with the exhaust pipe peeping out of middle of the bumper.

Though the outer look is quite attractive, the interior does not seem so. The plastics look cheap. The knobs and switches have materials of older generation cars! But the layout of the interiors is spacious and functional. The curved dashboard is useful for storage, which seems to be the current trend. The instrument binnacle is in the middle. The centre console houses all the important knobs and air conditioner vents. Speakers for the audio system are on the rear bench just under the seat area.

The speedometer is designed for 120 km/h. There’s only one sun visor. And sadly for women, there is no vanity mirror to plaster on some make-up (for men too if the current men’s fashion is an indicator!). The seats have integrated head restraints, like in the Hyundai i10. Tata Motors will offer the top end version of Nano with air conditioners, power windows and power steering. Nano is to be exported too, and provision for ABS and airbags will also be there for sure. The gearbox is a floor mounted four-speed version. For its size, Nano is quite roomy, enough for four average sized Indians. (Not so spacious for citizens of New Delhi, as more than half the population is obese, the current crop of children/teens even more obese, and those who settled in Delhi and opted for the famous (or infamous) “Delhi belly” after gulping down buckets of the mouthwatering Delhi delicacies).

Nano is a metal-bodied car with four full-blown doors to ease ingress and egress. It has a uni-body construction that makes use of a sub-frame which adds to the strength. About suspension, the Tata engineers had to optimize the suspension setup and add a fair amount of other technical add-ons like fatter rear tyres while the battery box and fuel tank are placed right underneath the seat of front occupants.

The Nano has an all-aluminum two cylinder 623 cc engine with two valves per cylinder driven by a single overhead camshaft. The Nano moves with 33 BHP power, peaking at 5500 rpm with 48 Nm of turning force supplied at a meager 2500 rpm. The Nano has a 4-speed cable operated gearbox, the fourth being in an overdriven ratio. Tata is developing an automatic gearbox for Nano, but that may not be available when the car is launched by the year end. Besides the 623 cc petrol engine, Tata Motors may also bring out a common-rail 700 cc diesel engine of the same architecture as the one seen on Tata Ace.

Though tagged as “Rs 1 lakh car”, when delivered to the customer it may cost about to Rs 1.2 lakh, while the one with more comforts and extra accessories can be priced at Rs 1.5 lakh. The top-end versions might retail for about Rs 2.0 lakh, as speculations go.