Indian Car Blog - Carazoo.com

The Tata Nano. Don’t you think this car has been grabbing the spotlight for long now? For good reasons and bad, the car has been the talk of the town. This time, there’s pleasant news. We just heard that Tata Motors has confirmed that the Nano Europa would hit the European shores by next year. We are not sure though, if the little wonder would be locally manufactured or imported. But, it looks like the province of Moselle in France is welcoming the Indian car maker with arms wide open to manufacture the Nano Europa in their region.

Tata Motors should have actually been worried. But, the Moselle Development Agency was more interested in offering space to the car maker. He said that Tata Motors should take a look at the Moselle province for manufacturing Nano cars and added that the province has profitable business openings for major auto component makers. The province is already home to German firm Daimler's manufacturing unit for the well-accepted urban two-seater small car 'Smart'.

The European version of the Nano, named as Nano Europa, was unveiled at the 79th Geneva Auto Show. While the car was being revealed, the chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors, Ratan Tata had announced that the car would hit the European market by 2011.

We may call the Nano ‘people’s car’. But, stay informed that the Nano Europa is a lot different from the Indian Nano. Tata Motors says that the car would have to meet different safety and emissions standards. There are rumours that the world’s cheapest car is going to cost 5,000 Euros in Europe. It is also widely believed that once Nano Europa gets launched, Tata Motors would control the immense distribution network of Italian auto giant, Fiat S.p.A. Great confidence!

The Nano Europa may be petite, just 3.29 metres long and 1.58 metres wide. But the roominess and liberal legroom that it has is simply amazing. The slightly long 2.28-metre wheelbase combines admirable space and ability of movement further enhancing the standards set by the Nano. The improved spaciousness is matched by redesigned interiors, marked by smooth curves and a state-of-the-art yet gentle feel.

To meet the driving needs, the Tata Nano Europa will be equipped with a 3-cylinder sporty all-aluminum MPFI engine mated with a 5-speed automatic transmission and an electric power steering. The gasoline engine will be best in class, offering great fuel economy and low carbon dioxide emission levels, lesser than 100 gm / km so to say. These low levels help the Nano Europa meet the twin goals of being nature friendly and stylish, just like the Tata Nano.

Unlike the Indian Nano, which had a few safety issues lately, the Tata Nano Europa meets all safety regulations. The Nano Europa comes with a sheet-metal body with an energy-absorbing design. It makes use of advanced restraint systems, ABS, ESP and air bags that are sure going to enhance passenger safety.

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Can you believe this? Chauffeur-driven Nanos will be added to the list of cars used for guest transfers at the Taj Hotels. It is true that Taj Hotels are promoted by Tata. But a little one like the Nano will be taking guests around the cities and airports. This seems a little strange. Will this really happen or is it just speculation?

Indian Hotels (IHCL) is the owner of the Taj brand of premium hotels and the biggest hospitality chain in Asia. Very recently, IHCL introduced Jaguar sedans to the line of cars at the Taj after the Tata acquisition of the brand. It uses the Jaguars for VIPs and for transportation as a limousine. The Nano is one of the smallest cars in the world. But this car is also among the biggest brands within the Tata family. Just a while ago, the whole world was talking about the Nano.

Tata gained so much popularity because of the little master. Car makers and car fanatics showed special interest in the Nano. Will it be a success? Will it survive? Many more questions were in their minds. Now we see so many car makers with plans of small cars. Many of them have already come up with mini models. The newly launched Ford Figo, Volkswagen Polo and Chevrolet Beat have been seeing pretty decent sales figures. Nissan too will be rolling out its Micra in the next two months.

IHCL always looks at creating a matchless effect by the sharing and combination of products and brands within the Tata Group. The Taj brand feels that it is possible to have the Nano as a car for guest transfers. In some time, once the production of the Nano gets stretched, the car will be waiting for guests to enter.

Why do you think all this has suddenly come up? Has any guest at the Taj made any special request for the Nano? None of us have heard anything of the sort. The company only says that such a demand could arise, considering the excitement the world’s cheapest car has created. The car is yet to be launched overseas and requests for cars at the Taj mostly come from international travelers coming to India. So, there may not be too much of a demand for the car though.

The international travellers, however, will get a drive in the Nano only during their visit to India. It will take more than a year for the car to hit international roads. So, the Taj’s decision of adding the car to the existing line-up seems to be an intelligent one. Ever since its launch a couple of years ago, there has been so much curiosity and interest attached with the Nano.

Currently, IHCL has an array of luxury and economy travel options with carlines ranging from Tata Indica for the economy seekers to the Mercedes Benz S-Class for the premium traveller. The company also makes extensive use of all the models of Tata Motors, including Tata Indigo, Tata Sumo and Tata Safari.

Now, does IHCL really intend to use the Nano? If yes, it will have to wait for Tata Motors to reopen the bookings of the car. This is expected later this year.

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Remember the day when the Tata Nano was unveiled? The pomp and show was great when the world’s cheapest car was launched in India. But, will the Nano carry the Rs 1,00,000 tag through its lifespan, or, will it hike its price? Times are getting tougher for the creators of the wonderful car, and so, the price too may have to get a little tough.

The Nano’s parent group, Tata and its chairman Ratan Tata have been struggling to cope up with the current Indian economy. With the increase in costs of raw materials and labour, and the new higher taxes, the manufacturing costs too are rising. Post budget, steel has seen an average rise in price of 25 per cent. The prices of copper, aluminum, plastics and rubber are increasing by the day and Tata finds it difficult to maintain the low price of the Nano.

Will the People’s Car remain as such in the coming years? Working middle-class Indians just switched over from two to four wheels. Blame the slight sophistication in the lifestyle on the Nano. The price did it all. But, what do you think will happen now? What if the Nano comes with a slightly hefty price? Will Ratan Tata’s dream project still be a success? Many car makers have already increased their prices. Will Tata be able to manage the heavier price?

Over 26,500 Nanos have already been sold, and as promised, the first 1,00,000 cars will be sold at Rs 1,00,000 regardless of the high manufacturing costs. Now that’s a gentleman’s promise from Tata. Wondering what is going to happen later? Well, the basic model of the small car may see a Rs 30,000 hike and the high-end version, the price of the Nano LX may increase to Rs 2,00,000. Currently, the Nano LX is priced at Rs 1,72,360-1,85,375. The increase in prices will probably be seen towards the end of this year, once the second round of bookings begins.

Tata, however, has remained tight-lipped about the prices. It was unsure of the future price. It confessed, though, that the rising manufacturing costs were making it difficult to sell the car at a low cost. The Nano has already sparked the fire and many other car makers are coming up with ultra-low-cost cars. The competition is getting tenser. Ford, Honda, Toyota, and Renault and Nissan along with Bajaj Auto all plan to make small cars in the next two years.

India’s population is huge. But, only 8 per 1,000 people in India own cars as compared to Germany and France with 550 and 495 per 1,000 people respectively. Even after the increase in prices, the Nano is likely to remain cheaper than its rivals. The Nano stands a better chance of increasing the number of Indian car buyers. Demand for cars in rural parts of India is increasing because of Nano’s low price.

The eco-friendly Nano looks great. The toy-like cuddly car delivers a safe feeling. Tata has bigger plans. It wants to sell the Nano in the U.S. However, that would happen only after the car is redesigned with a larger engine and greater safety features. So, that is going to take some time. Last year, a European version of the Nano with airbags and leather trim, with more stringent safety and emissions standards was unveiled by Tata. Way to go Nano!

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Here’s some news on the Nano which was being sorely missed out for some days now.

The second round of bookings for The People’s Car has been re-scheduled. Well, some good news for the millions of eagerly waiting middle-class Indians. Tata Motors has decided to start the second round of bookings of its Nano in 3-6 months.

It is also learnt that the first set of customers will receive their new Tata Nano by September-December 2010. The car that would have brightened your outdoor space somewhere in Jan-March 2011 will now do it by the end of this year. Tata Motors that used to manufacture 150 units a day has already ramped up production and 180 units are being manufactured everyday at its Pantnagar plant.

Sanand, Gujarat will also begin putting together the common man’s car very soon. Mr. P M Telang, Tata Motors Managing Director, said that commercial production of the Nano at its manufacturing facility in Gujarat will begin in the next couple of months.

However, as announced earlier, only the first set of the Nano’s customers will be able to avail the special discounted price of Rs.1Lakh. New customers will pay a higher price. Not to worry, the car will arrive earlier than expected. The reason being, Tata Motors has re-scheduled the Nano’s bookings to an earlier date. We just have to wait for another 3-6 months. That’s it? How exciting!

Now, here’s the secret. Increasing demand of the World’s Cheapest Car may have led Tata Motors to start off with an early round-II of bookings.

Guess the major reason for the quick bookings? Well, you guessed it right! As we have mentioned it in our car news around 20-25 per cent of the Nano’s original customers have backed out. Yes, a quarter of the total bookings have been cancelled.

Wait, there is more to it! Tata Motors is expected to launch two diesel variants of the Nano in June this year. Cool, right? The variants will come with a 3-cylinder engine. Moreover, it is rumoured that the Nano Europa will be strapped with a similar engine.

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The world’s cheapest car Tata Nano is now being readied for sale in the US market. The car will be ready for US distribution in about three years.

To meet the emissions and safety standards of US, the Tata Nano is going through modification.
Tata Motors has already made a European version of the Nano that will cost about $8,000 when it debuts in 2011. Hence it can be said that the US version of the Nano is expected to come in a comparable price quotation.

The reasons behind this hefty price tag are the structural changes that needed to be made, the changes required as far as emissions are concerned and additional features for the Western market.

Moreover, the Nano’s two-cylinder, 623cc engine has to be engineered to meet stronger the US pollution standards. Besides, airbags have to be added as a safety feature, the roof needs to be strengthened and the front bumper lengthened to meet US requirements.

The Spartan interior with flat bucket seats, three knobs, a horizontal switch and a steering wheel also have to be changed to comply with US safety standards that limit movement of passengers not wearing seat belts.

If the $8,000 price tag holds true, it would cost far less than the $9,970 Hyundai Accent, currently the car with the lowest base sticker price in the U.S., according to the Edmunds.com automotive website.

It should not be forgotten that the price excludes shipping!

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Trust us; you’ll never ever hear the end of Nano, no, not at least in your life time. Just when we thought people were tired of praising the Nano for being the people’s car, smallest car, and cheapest car and so on. Here comes one of the most revered praises for the Nano from none other than the President of the World Bank himself.

Robert Zoellick, the President of World Bank Group was impressed with the world’s cheapest car, Tata Nano when he saw the small wonder parked at Road and Highways Minister Kamal Nath’s house in Delhi.

Robert Zoellick who could not help but satisfy the urge to sit in the car immediately was impressed with the abundant space of the Nano. He tried the rear and the front seats of the car and also peeped to have a glance of the engine.

He was amazed with the frugal manufacturing made possible by Indian companies and that it shows signs of strength of India Inc. He could not help but comment “The low end is selling for about USD 2,000. I mean, that's a very well engineered product and that's a sign of something.”

He also showered the words of praises on the Tata Nano maker and Tata Group head, Ratan Tata saying “Probably, most people in the car industry thought it couldn't have been done".

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There is a threat to Tata Nano’s title as the ‘world’s cheapest car’. The challenge is given by EcoCa, a little-known company in London which is all ready to roll out a 340 cc two-seater petrol car for as little as $2,200 (Rs 1 Lakh).

Carazoo.com would like to remind its readers that though the Tata Nano is called the ‘one-lakh-rupee’ car, the base variant of the Tata Nano comes with a price of Rs. 1.15 Lakh ($ 2,500).

EcoCa is a small engineering and design Taiwanese company based in London. The company kicked off with an investment of around 8 million pounds. This company is setting its eyes on the lucrative Indian automobile market and is hunting for a partnership to foray in it. Moreover, with a price tag of $2,200, the company says that it can still ensure healthy profit margins with its low-cost car, which will be know as the company’s name.

EcoCa had plans to make use of India’s low-cost manufacturing base to keep the price down for both global and domestic markets.

The company also revealed that some Indian car makers have shown interest to assess the prototype of its car for performance, fuel efficiency and safety standards.
The rumour mill says that EcoCa has approached the Indian SUV maker Mahindra & Mahindra for a talk.

The EcoCa car is very much inspired by the iconic Volkswagen Beetle and hence comes with convertible roof and automatic gearbox.

The prototype of the car is made of lightweight, a high strength ABS plastic, which has good resistance to impact, heat and chemicals. It weighs only 330 kg against Nano’s 635 kg and will be replacing the Nano as India’s lightest car too once it is launched. Besides, it will give a mileage of 27-28 km/L of petrol against Nano’s 23.6 km/L under standard test conditions. But, it has a top speed of 70 km/h, much lower than Nano's 103 km/h. The car has cleared the frontal crash tests in Europe like the Nano and carries options of front airbags.

The EcoCa is out to challenge Tata Motor’s small wonder. But only time will decide the winner.

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The saga of Tata Nano woes seem to be far from over. Even as the first batch of cars is being delivered to its customers, bookings in Punjab are being cancelled rapidly by its buyers. And the reason -these customers do not want to wait long to receive delivery of the Nano car.

Since, Tata Motors has a restricted production capacity of 1 lakh car annually, delivery of cars will be slow. It is expected to be in batches of a specified number. The delivery of first one lakh cars is likely to be completed by the end of this fiscal year by March 2010.

Tata Motors has sent letters to those who have been allocated the world’s cheapest car and has also given details about the delivery schedule. After the bookings were closed, Tata Motors had garnered 2.03 lakh bookings.

Those who are scheduled to receive their Tata Nano cars in the latter half of this fiscal year, are voicing their dissatisfaction. Some of those who had agreed to retain their bookings are also expected to cancel them as new car launches entice them with attractive offers.

If this happens the future of Tata Nano may be in danger. Tata Motors will have to soon overcome these drawbacks to provide quick delivery of the cars. It is not ease for the company as it will require huge investment and time before fruitition of its plans. It has none of them as of now.

The only way Tata Motors can come out of this maze is by some aggressive campaigning. It should ensure that people do not take Tata Nano lightly, despite its small price tag.

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