Nano Hits the Road

Tata Motors has commercially launched its people's car, Nano, promising to stick to the Rs 1,00,000 price tag for the base model.

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"From today onwards, the product will be available in the showrooms... There will be three versions - the base version, which is the one we promised to the people of India and two upper tier versions...," Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata told a news conference.

The higher-end versions will have air-conditioning, power brakes and power windows, among others.

"We hope this day we will usher in a new form of transport," Tata said, adding that the endeavour was never to build the cheapest car but to provide an affordable form of transportation. He, however, hastened to add that "we made a promise and that we've kept the promise."

The booking of the Nano will begin on April 9 and remain open till April 25.

The delivery of the first lot of Nano cars will begin in early July, he said, adding that applications for booking of the car will be available in 30,000 locations in 1,000 cities across India.

State Bank of India will be the qualified banker for collection of bookings in 850 cities, he said.

The car can be booked by just paying Rs 2,999 upfront while the rest can be secured by way of loan, he said.

There will be 15 preferred financiers for the booking whose names will be disclosed in three days.

As the Nano made its commercial debut, automotive industry experts opined that the Rs 1-lakh wonder from the Tata stable can give an additional 14 million Indian families access to an affordable car, thus creating a niche segment.



"It definitely is a major milestone in the mobility paradigm for India and perhaps the world," Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) director general Dilip Chenoy said, adding it has the potential to create a new segment of customers in the existing market.

According to market research firm Crisil, Nano's price reduces the cost of ownership of an entry-level car by 30 per cent and to below three times the cost of owning a motorcycle.

"This will make the car affordable to an additional 14 million families, including a section of 58 million two- wheeler owners," Crisil said.