Some of the secrecy surrounding the Tatas' Rs 1-lakh small car has been shed, with a company executive disclosing that the vehicle will get 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) per liter and in performance terms will match the Maruti 800, one of the most popular cars in the budget segment of the Indian market.
"It's an eco-car with a 25 kilometer-per-liter mileage on petrol, meets every international standard and specification, including Euro-4 norms. Acceleration wise, it's the same as a Maruti 800," R A Mashelkar, a nonexecutive director on Tata Motors' board, told reporters in Kolkata.
He was recounting a visit to Tata Motors' plant in the western city of Pune, during which he rode in a prototype of the vehicle, which is expected to launch in the middle of next year and will be priced at Rs 1 lakh (Rs 100,000) (approximately $2,500), the cheapest for such a passenger vehicle in this market.
Mashelkar also put to rest questions on how spacious the car would be, explaining that there was ample space in both the front and the rear to fit his six-foot frame. "In a bid to reduce weight of the car, Tata Motors' engineers have used more plastics. The car does not use too many bolts which also helps in reducing weight. Instead, it's all a new kind of welding," he was quoted as saying.
Mashelkar also spoke about the moment when Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata decided he needed to make a small car. "You know how 'Ratan' thought about this small car. . . One day he was going on the
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