The smallness of the car is perfectly suited for the hills, some owners said, because it is easy to park, convenient to negotiate bends, economical to run and fun to race on narrow roads.
United States President Barack Obama, who heads the world's richest economy, on Sunday checked out the world's cheapest car -- Nano. When the powerful US couple was introduced to Ratan Tata, who heads the $72 billion conglomerate, President Obama told First Lady Michelle that this is the person who created the $2,500 wonder car. Eyewitnesses said that Michelle immediately expressed the desire to see the car that revolutionised the auto industry.
The Tata group may consider launching its small car Nano in a new avatar in another country like Indonesia, where it doesn't have the 'stigma' of being 'the cheapest car', and bring it back to India for a fresh start with a new image, according to Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata.
To lure the automaker, West Bengal seized small farms to give Tata nearly 1,000 acres -- and so far it has rejected compromise proposals.
The tale of the creation and design of the world's cheapest car is one of innovation and ingenuity, both inside and outside Ratan Tata's organization.
Launch will be under separate brand name
Tata Motors is 'at a very high stage' in finalising a production site for its small car Nano at an overseas location, which could be either in Latin America, South East Asia or Africa.
Tata-promoted Taj Hotels may decide to add the Nano to their line of chauffeur-driven cars used for guest transfers.
Tata Motors is developing higher capacity engines for its Nano car, to target domestic as well as foreign markets.
Tata Motors' Pantnagar facility sent its first consignment of the world's cheapest car, Nano to Hyderabad.
Tata Motors has offered the Nano small car to consumers who wish to buy it using credit cards.
Within days of exiting from West Bengal, Tatas have decided to relocate their Rs 1 lakh-Nano car project in Gujarat, after scouting many sites including that Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
The innovations of the $2,500 car carry important lessons for Western executives
Dealers of Tata Motors in most parts of the country have stopped placing orders for this small car in the last three-four months and the showrooms are displaying contemporary models such as Tiago, Tigor, Hexa and Nexon.
Its wholesale numbers may be on the decline, but Tata's small car Nano is picking up in sales at retail level as dealers at different parts of the country cash in on the reduced down payment scheme introduced by the company ahead of the festival season.
Inaugurating the facility, spread over about 1,100 acres, Narendra Modi said it cost him Re 1 to have the plant in the state.
Faced with steep fall in sales of Nano, Tata Motors said it will reposition the budget car as `a smart city car' with added features such as power steering, apart from introducing a CNG version.
Jamshedpur gave birth to Telco (now Tata Motors) which has just launched the low-cost Nano; Jamshedpur, according to the 35-year old Tata Housing Development Company managing director Brotin Banerjee, is what inspired Tata Housing to launch its Shubh Griha low-cost housing project in Mumbai.
Tata Motors is planning to launch a Nano model that will run 40 kilometres on a litre of diesel, matching the mileage of a typical 180cc motorcycle.
Joining the list of nations that are keen to have the Nano ply on their roads, Cuba today said the world's cheapest car from the house of Tatas has huge potential in the Caribbean nation.
Tata Motors has decided to stick to the Rs 1-lakh price tag -- plus value-added tax (VAT) plus transport charges -- for the car as the company believes hiking the price at this stage will be a 'breach of promise to the customers.'
'The Nano becomes a tool and a metaphor for the future. It will be a tool in the sense that any first car purchase in a country like India opens its owner to imagining their own mobility in and through the mobility of the car. This is a feature and a potential of all first cars in India,' says NYU Prof Arjun Appadurai.
According to sources in the state government, Tata Sons chairman Ratan N Tata is expected to be in town on June 2 and the plant will be inaugurated by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Nano's production though continues unhindered despite mounting losses
Gautam Adani's alleged proximity to Narendra Modi may dent the latter's self-styled image of incorruptibility, points out Kanika Datta.
Five small cars in the Indian market failed in the first-ever independent crash tests.
What does it take to drive around India in a Tata Nano? A bit of gumption, is what Vanessa Able would say. A fascinating account of a young lady's improbable journey in the world's cheapest car.
Old ideas contained in the heads of old economists still dominate. That's not good, asserts T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.
India, a booming market for passenger cars, manufactures 4 of the world's cheapest cars.
Tata Motors on Friday claimed that its people's car was "absolutely safe", saying a probe into fires that gutted a couple of brand new 'Nanos' by an expert team found 'no manufacturing defects'.
Tata Motors on Friday claimed that its people's car was "absolutely safe", saying a probe into fires that gutted a couple of brand new 'Nanos' by an expert team found 'no manufacturing defects'.
That means a manufacturer looking at a market like India needs to decide whether small, cheap cars or small, expensive cars or both will work better for them, says Pavan Lall.
The company is currently selling an average 2,000 units each month.
UK-based news magazine, The Economist, on Monday named Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata as the winner of the eighth edition of its annual 'Business Process Innovation Award' for the successful development and launch of the world's cheapest car, the Tata Nano.
The company said despite the recession in global markets, it has invested over Euro 3 billion (Rs 20,000 crore) in 2009 particularly in developing technologies for the low- priced vehicles to improve fuel efficiency.
The small car market of India is booming like never before.
"Tata Nano is a unique development. The design and development were carried out from scratch to keep the cost of the car at the Rs 1 lakh level," said K Kasturirangan. The Nano project has already secured 37 patents abroad for its path-breaking technology and has become a powerful brand worldwide. "The setting up of the factory also posed socio-political challenges, but the multi-dimensional approach finally helped in the realisation of the project," he added.
Maruti is working very hard to tap the entry level segment and it might reduce some features from the original model available in Japan.
A Canadian company will be manufacturing auto parts for Tata's Nano, as more Canadian companies look for business avenues in India.
With deregulation in diesel prices, this variant does not make sense.
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