Worlds cheapest car unveiled
By Rina Chandran
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India’s Tata Motors Ltd unveiled the
world’s cheapest new car on Thursday, bringing car ownership
closer for millions of poorer consumers in emerging markets but
raising environmental concerns.
The 4-seater Nano, with an engine around 625cc, will have a
dealer price of 100,000 rupees ($2,500), about half the cost of
the cheapest car on today’s market, a 25-year old model from
Maruti Suzuki Ltd, Tata’s great rival.
The Nano will go on sale later this year, the company said.
“Let me assure you and our critics the car we have designed
will meet all safety norms and all foreign environmental
criteria,” Chairman Ratan Tata said as he proudly unveiled what
had been dubbed the “People’s Car” at the Auto Expo in New
Delhi.
“In a way it is a high point for me. There is a sense of
achievement and vindication,” he told reporters later.
The compact but curvy Nano stands in sharp contrast to the
luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands that Tata is negotiating to
acquire from Ford Motor Co.
Hundreds of people crowded into the pavilion to see the
long-awaited launch, standing on chairs to get the best view as
Tata introduced and then drove the car onto the stage in a
media circus more worthy of a pop concert or an Oscar ceremony.
Tata planned the car years ago as a safer and more
affordable alternative for the millions who often ferry
families of four, plus baggage, on motorbikes and scooters. Continued…
