You need to be re-programmed to test the Tata Nano. Normal references do not apply. For the moment, disregard the Nano Europa that appeared at the recent Geneva auto show, as well as the possibility of a U.S. version. Instead, it is the simplest, most basic model that counts: available for as little as $2200, it’s the cheapest new car available anywhere in the world.
We must not forget that the Nano is first and foremost a car for India, a country of about one billion people where fewer than two percent own a car. It was instigated by Ratan Tata, the chairman of the Tata conglomerate, India’s biggest corporation, in a gesture that looks as much philanthropic as business savvy. Watching the way whole families travel on motorcycles—rider, pillion passenger, and two children hanging on—and noting the terrible toll in road deaths involving two-wheelers, Tata called for a safer four-wheeled vehicle that bike riders could afford.
Small Car, Big Ambitions
Everyone knows that small, cheap cars mean small profits, and for Tata the margin on the Nano at its entry price is, well, marginal. But look at the big picture and perhaps we can see the Ford Model T or the Volkswagen Beetle for the 21st century. Through the Nano, Tata of India hopes to become one of the biggest players on the global automotive stage.
The “people’s car” of today primarily has to be for first-time buyers with average incomes way below those of the industrialized Western countries. Ratan Tata’s brief for the Nano was that, apart from being cheap to buy, it must be a “proper” car capable of accommodating five people, exceed Indian safety and emissions requirements, and be economical to run. One look at the Indian market told the Tata engineers that the cost objectives could not be met by stripping out an existing conventional car. The cheapest car on the Indian market, the Maruti 800, is based on an age-old Suzuki minicar and costs twice as much as the Nano.
Keep Reading: 2009 Tata Nano - First Drive Review
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