At last, rays of hope have started shining on Singur factory land, which has been lying unutilised since the Tatas decided to shift their Nano factory from there on October 3, 2008, following relentless opposition by Trinamool Congress and its allies against the company's alleged 'illegal' acquisition of farm lands.
A vendor said that Tata Motors had sent a mail that a meeting with the West Bengal commerce and industry secretary was scheduled for Thursday. Industry Secretary Sabyasachi Sen was not available for comment. However, WBIDC's public relations agency said that Sen had not sent any mail to vendors.
The announcement comes close on the heels of the US publication Conde Nast Portfolio's report that 'Nano' would not be sold in the US. "The model (Nano) won't be sold in the US but has the potential to radically alter the market for manufacturers in India. Tata-inspired followers are already revving up their engines," Conde Nast Portfolio said.
In the biggest-ever replacement exercise in Indian automobile history, Tata Motors has asked an estimated 1.40 lakh (140,000) Nano owners to bring back their cars for change of the starter motor free-of-cost.
Nearly 80 per cent of the buyers opting for the more expensive variants instead of the base-level car which is priced at Rs 1.23 lakh (ex showroom, Delhi). The trend is based on responses from dealers and banks that took bookings in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Kolkata on Thursday. The Nano CX costs Rs 1.48 lakh and the top-end LX Rs 1.72 lakh.
In a bid to push up sales, Tata Motors on Wednesday announced a special finance scheme by which a customer will get a loan for the Nano within 48 hours.
In an effort to make the world's cheapest car more affordable, Tata Motors is exploring the possibility of providing loans for the Nano either through Tata Motors Finance, a wholly owned subsidiary, or existing financing channels.
"Tata Motors officials have conveyed to us that they are thinking of setting up a small permanent production unit of Nano in Pantnagar," Chief Secretary I K Pande said. The Tata Motors spokesperson said, "It is Tata Motors's view that, even after the mother plant at Sanand becomes operational, Tata Motors will continue to manufacture a certain volume of the Nano at Pantnagar. We do not have any other information to share."
MSI said compact sedan Dzire Tour stood out as sales rose by over two-fold during the month under review to 3,370 units as against 1,299 in July 2014.
Tata Motors' plans to roll out the first of its Rs 1-lakh (Rs 100,000) small car, the Nano, from Uttarakhand, were boosted today after a high-powered state government committee under Chief Minister B C Khanduri allotted it nearly 45 acres of land to expand the Pantnagar unit.
Tata Motors managing director & CEO Carl-Peter Forster told Business Standard that the company would not be doing the Nano justice if it remains just the 'world's cheapest car' and, hence, will look at all the 'natural evolutions' of the Nano, including upgrades.
Tata Motors, which suspended work at the Nano plant in West Bengal's Singur in view of continued confrontation at the site early this month, has held talks with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi over relocating the facility to the state.
Market watchers believe Tata Motors' move to upgrade the Nano is a right decision.
Tata Motors' Pantnagar facility sent its first consignment of the world's cheapest car, Nano to Hyderabad.
In 2013-14, Tata Motors produced 21,358 Nano models against the plant capacity of 250,000 vehicles.
NRI industrialist Swraj Paul-owned Caparo Group, a key vendor for Tata Motors' Nano project, is setting up a Rs 120-crore (Rs 1.2 billion) facility at Singur to supply sheet metal and vehicle frames for the world's cheapest car -- due for commercial launch later this year.
Tata group Chairman Ratan Tata did live up to his promise of delivering a Rs 1 lakh car. But, that promise is now costing Tata Motors dear.
Tata group Chairman Ratan Tata did live up to his promise of delivering a Rs 1 lakh car. But, that promise is now costing Tata Motors dear.
Booking amount financing available from Rs 2850; retail auto loan available at interest rates starting from 9%; insurance premium starts at Rs 3,468 (ex New Delhi).
Gold Plus, the jewellery division of Titan Industries, said it will come out with the world's first 'jewellery car' by embellishing a Tata Motors Nano with gold designs as it celebrates 5,000 years of Indian jewellery.
Just months ahead of the launch of its Rs 1-lakh Nano, the world's cheapest car, automaker Tata Motors has started the process of expanding the dealership network for passenger cars.While the applications have already been invited for dealerships in Delhi and adjoining Ghaziabad, the company officials said that similar exercise is also being carried out in other parts of the country, wherever there is a need for expansion.
The update to the Tata Nano makes it a more appealing package.
Tata Group said that Tata Motors should target exports of the car in the developing countries like Brazil, China, Indonesia and Russia, where the growth rate is more than 10 per cent.
The new package put together by intermediaries includes higher compensation for land to land losers and more compensatory wages for registered tenant farmers (called bargadars), unregistered tenant farmers and agricultural labourers, and involvement of Tata Motors in the Singur resolution process, said sources close to the development.
The company is currently selling an average 2,000 units each month.
The entry level car, brainchild of Ratan Tata who envisaged giving a safer and affordable alternative to families riding on two-wheelers, received lacklustre response from the Indian consumer. Tata Motors to bid adieu to Nano from April 2020.
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.
One of the Nano vendors lays off 75 workers, others on wait-and-watch mode.
'The launch of the vehicle was successful beyond expectation'.
While the Nano is priced at Rs 1.12 lakh, Bajaj Auto's RE petrol variant costs about Rs 90,000, while its diesel variant is pegged at Rs 1.2 lakh. Analysts also say Bajaj can drop prices without any problem. "Bajaj Auto has been in the three-wheeler segment for 60 years. Which means their plants are fully depreciated and they can afford to lower the prices, which other manufacturers can't do," says a top executive from a competing three-wheeler brand.
India's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki on Thursday said it has no plans to cut the price of Maruti 800 to compete with Tata Motors' Nano.
The Nano will be on display at Tata Motors dealerships from the first week of April 2009. Bookings will commence from the second week of April 2009.
Karnataka chief minister told reporters that Karnatala would be glad to have the Tatas in the state following a meeting with Tata Motors Managing Director G Ravikanth in Bangalore on Thursday. Tata Motors has a manufacturing facility at Dharwad in the north Karnataka region, where it produces buses and tractors.
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.
Tata Motors on Tuesday said it will ramp-up capacity at its Sanand (in Gujarat) facility that manufactures its low-cost car, Nano, to over 20,000 units per month and 2.5-lakh units annually by this fiscal.
Terming Tata Motors Nano project as "very important for Bengal and industrialisation", CPI-M Politburo member Sitaram Yechuri was on Thursday hopeful that talks between the West Bengal government and Trinamool Congress on the issue would lead to a solution.
A brand new Tata Nano car which was on its way to be delivered in Vadodara, caught fire near Boriyavi village in Anand district, police said.
In November Tata Motors launched a brand new variant of Tata Nano.
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 Gujarat government admitted in the Assembly that it had paid Rs 456.79 cr.
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