TATA NANO- WORLD'S CHEAPEST CAR

The Tata Nano is an inexpensive, rear-engined, four-passenger city car built by the Indian company Tata Motors and is aimed primarily at the Indian domestic market.

                                                   

Tata Motors began selling its "one-lakh car" in March, 2009. This nickname is due to the Nano's price point, near 100,000 (≈ US$ 2100). It is the cheapest road car in the world today, though the price continues to rise due to increasing material costs.

In 2008 the Financial Times reported: "If ever there were a symbol of India’s ambitions to become a modern nation, it would surely be the Nano, the tiny car with the even tinier price-tag. A triumph of homegrown engineering, the Nano encapsulates the dream of millions of Indians groping for a shot at urban prosperity."

"Homegrown engineering" is a relative term here as much of the systems and parts used in the Nano may not have been developed or produced in India.

The Tata Nano has become somewhat symbolic as a modern 'people's car', often being compared to the likes of the Ford Model T and the original Volkswagen Beetle. The Nano has also become a status symbol in its home market of India, where it provides an opportunity for new car ownership for people who would otherwise never own one, and for the wealthy to join the trend.

                                         

Seeing an opportunity in the great number of Indian families with two-wheeled rather than four-wheeled vehicles, Tata Motors began development of an affordable car in 2003. The purchase price of this no frills auto was brought down by dispensing with most nonessential features, reducing the amount of steel used in its construction, and relying on low-cost Indian labor.

The introduction of the Nano received much media attention due to its low price,  and the car was available to buy throughout India in early 2011.

The Nano's development was foreshadowed by the 2005 success of the affordable, 4-wheeled Tata Ace truck.                           

                                                  

Many have had great expectations for this small car, some perhaps going a bit too far. One study, by Indian rating agency CRISIL, thought the Nano would expand the nation's car market by 65%. It was also anticipated that the 2009 launch of the car would greatly affect the used-car market, with prices dropping 25-30% in the lead up to the launch. However, due to limited supply (customers had a waiting period of up to one year) used-car prices reverted to their former figures.

Sales of new Suzuki Alto-based Maruti 800s (considered the Nano's nearest competitor) dropped by 20%, and used ones by 30% immediately following the unveiling of the Nano. As Autocar journalist Mark Rainford summarizes: “People are asking themselves—and us—why they should pay, say, 250,000 Rupees for a Maruti Alto, when they can wait and get a brand new Nano for less in a few months’ time, a car that is actually bigger.”

                                                                          

The car's exterior was designed at Italy's Institute of Development in Automotive Engineering.

                                            

The Nano's design implements many cost-reducing measures.

§  The Nano'S TRUNK is only accessible from inside the car, as the rear hatch does not open.

§  One windscreen wiper instead of the usual pair

§  No Power stering, unnecessary due to its light weight

§  Three log nuts on the wheels instead of the usual four

§  Only one wing mirror  

§  radio or CD player can be fitted as accessories

§  No airbags in any model

§  624cc rear engine has only 2 cylinders

§  No air conditioning in base model

                                             

Announcing the vehicle as the least expensive production car in the world, Tata aimed for a starting price of one lakh, or 100,000, rupees. This was approximately US$2000 at the time. As of December, 2010, the cheapest Nano costs around US$2900.

                                                

                                                  

Rapidly rising material prices (up 13% to 23% over the car’s development time are blamed for these price rises. In late October 2010, Reuters reported that prices will be raised by an average of 9,000 rupees (US$202) from November because of rising material costs, and as of the beginning of 2011 the Nano costs 140,000 rupees (more than US$3,000).