It has finally arrived the dream car of the middle class Indian –the Nano, a Tata small car which was unveiled at the Auto Expo in New Delhi last night. Touted as the People’s car and the world’s cheapest at that the Nano is priced at an affordable Rs. One lakh. However it is to be noted here that the sticker price is not inclusive of the 12.5 percent value added tax and transportation costs from the plant at Singur, near Calcutta from where it will be manufactured.
Ratan Tata, the Tata group chairman has shown the word that promises are made to be kept! The announcement of the small car project was made by Tata at the Geneva Auto Show in 2003 where his announcements were received with ridicule but he has proved his opponents wrong and achieved the important milestone in the history of small cars.
The car bearing a resemblance to the Volkswagen Beetle—Europe’s iconic car of the sixties and will be equipped with a two cylinder, 623 cc aluminium engine in the boot. The car is 3.1 metre long and 1.5 metre wide and will be 80 percent of Maruti Suzuki’s M 800 in length but 21 percent more spacious. And It also meets Bharat Stage –III emission norms and has passed frontal crash test which allays any fears of environmental concerns. The petrol driven car also boasts of a fuel efficiency of over 20 km per litre.
The God of small cars will hit the Indian roads in the second half of the year. The base model priced at Rs one lakh at at least two other models with additional features like air conditioning; Power steering will follow a bit later. A Diesel version of the Nano with promises to improve the current mileage will also follow soon after.
With the Nano as option Indians would be able to skip the hazards of uneven biking and hassles of other means of transportation. But a twist in the tale is the risk of traffic congestions in an already choc-a-bloc condition of Indian roads. But that will come later, first let us bask in the arrival of this god of small cars.
Ratan Tata, the Tata group chairman has shown the word that promises are made to be kept! The announcement of the small car project was made by Tata at the Geneva Auto Show in 2003 where his announcements were received with ridicule but he has proved his opponents wrong and achieved the important milestone in the history of small cars.
The car bearing a resemblance to the Volkswagen Beetle—Europe’s iconic car of the sixties and will be equipped with a two cylinder, 623 cc aluminium engine in the boot. The car is 3.1 metre long and 1.5 metre wide and will be 80 percent of Maruti Suzuki’s M 800 in length but 21 percent more spacious. And It also meets Bharat Stage –III emission norms and has passed frontal crash test which allays any fears of environmental concerns. The petrol driven car also boasts of a fuel efficiency of over 20 km per litre.
The God of small cars will hit the Indian roads in the second half of the year. The base model priced at Rs one lakh at at least two other models with additional features like air conditioning; Power steering will follow a bit later. A Diesel version of the Nano with promises to improve the current mileage will also follow soon after.
With the Nano as option Indians would be able to skip the hazards of uneven biking and hassles of other means of transportation. But a twist in the tale is the risk of traffic congestions in an already choc-a-bloc condition of Indian roads. But that will come later, first let us bask in the arrival of this god of small cars.
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