The world’s cheapest car, the widely-awaited Nano, will be launched on March 23, Tata Motors said on Thursday. The company will display the Nanot dealerships from the first week of April and will accept bookings from the second week of April. Nano’s entry might lead to growth in the domestic market. The car may also find a niche abroad, as cash-strapped consumers are likely to look for bargains. The company displayed the Nano at the Geneva Motor Show last year and plans to present the European version at the show in March 2009. It plans to sell Nano in Europe for E5,000. The company unveiled the Nano in January 2008 with a price tag of around Rs 1 lakh, nearly half the price of the next cheapest car in India, and aimed at launching it in the last quarter of 2008. The launch was delayed, as Tata Motors had to relocate its factory from West Bengal to Sanand in Gujarat because of protests over acquisition of agricultural land. It invested Rs 1,500 crore for setting up the West Bengal unit and is spending Rs 2,000 crore in the Sanand plant. Tata Motors will roll out 60,000-80,000 units of the Nano from another plant in Pantnagar in Uttarkhand till the Sanand unit is geared up to produce 2.5 lakh units a year. There is speculation as to whether Tata Motors would launch Nano in a number of cities. “The company is making arrangements for the widest possible network to book the car, so that prospective customers can conveniently avail of booking facilities at their locations. The booking process and other details will be announced on March 23,” the company said in a statement. Tata Motors has begun aggressively gearing up its distribution network to sell the car, which will primarily focus on semi-urban and rural markets. “We have been asked to open as many showrooms as possible at the district levels as the company has planned a slew of new launches this year,” said a Mumbai-based Tata Motors dealer, requesting anonymity. The base version of the Nano, which will be without an AC, will be priced at around Rs 1 lakh while the AC model will carry a higher price tag, said sources close to the project. It is learnt that Tata Motors Finance is working on various packages through SBI and HDFC Bank to offer competitive interest rates.Tata Nano to roll out on March 23
The world’s cheapest car, the widely-awaited Nano, will be launched on March 23, Tata Motors said on Thursday. The company will display the Nanot dealerships from the first week of April and will accept bookings from the second week of April. Nano’s entry might lead to growth in the domestic market. The car may also find a niche abroad, as cash-strapped consumers are likely to look for bargains. The company displayed the Nano at the Geneva Motor Show last year and plans to present the European version at the show in March 2009. It plans to sell Nano in Europe for E5,000. The company unveiled the Nano in January 2008 with a price tag of around Rs 1 lakh, nearly half the price of the next cheapest car in India, and aimed at launching it in the last quarter of 2008. The launch was delayed, as Tata Motors had to relocate its factory from West Bengal to Sanand in Gujarat because of protests over acquisition of agricultural land. It invested Rs 1,500 crore for setting up the West Bengal unit and is spending Rs 2,000 crore in the Sanand plant. Tata Motors will roll out 60,000-80,000 units of the Nano from another plant in Pantnagar in Uttarkhand till the Sanand unit is geared up to produce 2.5 lakh units a year. There is speculation as to whether Tata Motors would launch Nano in a number of cities. “The company is making arrangements for the widest possible network to book the car, so that prospective customers can conveniently avail of booking facilities at their locations. The booking process and other details will be announced on March 23,” the company said in a statement. Tata Motors has begun aggressively gearing up its distribution network to sell the car, which will primarily focus on semi-urban and rural markets. “We have been asked to open as many showrooms as possible at the district levels as the company has planned a slew of new launches this year,” said a Mumbai-based Tata Motors dealer, requesting anonymity. The base version of the Nano, which will be without an AC, will be priced at around Rs 1 lakh while the AC model will carry a higher price tag, said sources close to the project. It is learnt that Tata Motors Finance is working on various packages through SBI and HDFC Bank to offer competitive interest rates.
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