subject: Tata Nano : The Worlds Cheapest Car [print this page] Tata Nano is the best thing to have hit the Indian roads apart from Maruti 800! Today, every middle class family in India aspires to buy a Tata Nano, the quintessential Peoples Car. A rear-engined, four-passenger car built by Tata Motors, the Tata Nano is mainly aimed at the Indian market. The car received immediate popularity and media attention owing to its targeted low price and its eco-friendliness. The Tata Nano was envisioned by Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group and Tata Motors.
The car has received great appreciation from various quarters and the media for its significantly low cost and eco-friendly initiatives such as use of compressed air as fuel and an electric-version (E-Nano). The Tata Group is expected to mass-manufacture the electric-version of the Tata Nano, and export them to various countries abroad apart from India.
The cars began to be delivered to customers after July 2009 at a starting price of Rs 1,00,000 (approx. UK1,360 or US$2,160). Tata Nano is comparatively cheaper than the Maruti 800, its closest competitor and the next cheapest priced Indian car.
The Tata Nano provides numerous cutting-edge features and has the capacity to accommodate five people. The car has 21% more interior space and an 8% smaller exterior when compared to the Maruti 800. Besides, Nano has a fuel efficiency of around 26 kilometres per litre on the highway and around 22 kilometres per litre in the city.
Tata Nano is available in three versions: the basic Tata Nano Std; the CX; and the LX. The basic version is spare, with no radio, no air bags or passenger-side mirror and only one windshield wiper. The CX and LX versions are, however,well-equipped with features such as air conditioning, power windows, and central locking. The car is 10 feet long and the 623-cubic-centimeter two-cylinder engine is expected to produce about 35 horsepower, good for a top speed of 75 mph.
The car has truly revolutionized the Indian automobile industry. It is expected that this Peoples Car could pave the way for the manufacture of other such supercheap models in developing markets around the world.
