$2500 Sticker Price & 47 MPG – But would YOU drive it?

January 15, 2008 · Filed Under Automotive Industry, Related News

The Indian car company Tata Motors has unveiled is micro-commuter the Nano, designed for developing nations – it’s a simple commuter that will sell in India for about $2500. Air conditioning and radio are extra.

Tata Nano - 47 MPG

This little car has four doors, a 2 cylinder 33-horsepower engine that gets a motorcycle-ish 47 MPG (that’s without any hypermiler tuning) and motors along at a less-than-US-highway-safe 60MPH.

It’s called the “People’s Car”, referring toÂ it’s appealÂ to people who normally couldn’t afford a vehicle. It will be sold in India later this year, and then distributed to developing countries in the same general area.

But it’s also raised eyebrows here in the US, and there are already some asking if there are any plans to import itÂ state-side.Â Something like this would be hard to beatÂ for daily in-town commuting or grocery-getting, saving the gas-guzzlingÂ urban assault vehicles (SUV’s) for battle on the high speedÂ interstates.

I don’t know ifÂ the Nano will ever appeal to enough Americans to encourage Tata toÂ develop a distribution network here, of if I’d ever feel comfortable driving that little car among the giant battle rams on American roads. What about you?

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3 Responses to “$2500 Sticker Price & 47 MPG – But would YOU drive it?”

Doc Miles on January 15th, 2008 12:55 PM

Tata Motors on Thursday 10/01/2008 unveiled its ‘People’s Car’, the 4-door Nano, which will be the world’s cheapest car with a dealer price of 100,000 rupees ($2,500).
Following are some details on the car, which was presented at the Auto Expo in New Delhi.
* Length: 3.1 metres TOP SPEED-90KM/HR
* Height: 1.6 metres
* Width: 1.5 metres
* Engine: Rear-wheel drive, 2-cylinder, 623 cc, multi-point fuel-injection petrol engine. Engine is rear mounted. Tata said it was the first time a 2-cylinder gasoline engine was being used in a car with single balancer shaft.
* Safety: Tata said the Nano has an all sheet-_meta_l body, with safety features such as crumple zones, intrusion-resistant doors, seat-belts, strong seats and anchorages, and the rear tailgate glass bonded to the body. Tyres are tubeless.
* Environment: Tata said tailpipe emission performance exceeded current regulatory requirements, and the Nano had a lower overall pollution level than two-wheelers made in India. It said high fuel efficiency (20 km/litre) ensured low carbon dioxide emissions.
Looks: The snub-nosed car keeps in the tradition of the Fiat 500, Nissan Micra and the Smart.

Initial Annual Production Target: 250,000 units to rise later to 350,000. PRICE: Basic model price 100,000 rupees (2,500 dollars) plus tax and transport costs, which will bring on the road price to at least 120,000 rupees. The price of two deluxe models that will include air-conditioning and other features to be announced later.
Nearest Domestic Car Rival: Maruti 800, part of Japanese-owned Suzuki Maruti stable whose _base_ model sells for about 4,800 dollars — nearly double the price of the Nano.
Nearest International Rival: China’s Chery QQ which retails for 3,600 dollars.
Sales: Tata will focus on selling the car in India for the next two to three years, before eyeing Latin American and Southeast Asian markets.

Market: India’s car market is a huge draw because car penetration is just seven per 1,000 people, compared to 550 per 1,000 in such countries as Germany or 476 in France, according to the Society of Indian Automobiles.

Company Details: Tata Motors is India’s largest vehicle company with revenues of 7.2 billion dollars in 2006-2007. It is the leader in commercial vehicles, such as trucks and buses, and the second largest in passenger vehicles. There are over four million Tata vehicles on Indian roads.
Doc Miles on January 15th, 2008 12:59 PM

Here’s a good article at NYT aout the car:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/12/business/worldbusiness/12cars.html
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