PERFORMANCE & SPECIFICATIONS
Performance The 2-cylinder engine – delivering 35 PS @ 5250 rpm and a torque of 48 Nm @ 3000 rpm - enables the car to have a top speed of 105 kmph and negotiate inclines with a gradeability of 30%.
Fuel efficiency: 23.6 km/litre, certified by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) under mandated test conditions, which is the highest for any petrol car in India.
Emission: The high fuel efficiency, coupled with a low kerb weight of 600 kg, ensures that the Tata Nano – at 101 gm / km - has the lowest CO2 emission amongst cars in India. The Tata Nano is BS-III* compliant and is BS-IV* ready. It is also available in BS-II* norms.
Safety: The Tata Nano's safety performance exceeds current regulatory requirements - it passes the roll-over test and offset impact, which are not regulated in India. It has an all sheet-metal body, reinforced passenger compartment, crumple zones, intrusion-resistant doors, besides mandatory seat belts and complies fully with existing Indian safety standards. Tubeless tyres – among which the rear ones are wider endowing extra stability – enhance safety.
Warranty: 18 months or 24,000 km, whichever is earlier.
THE BOOKING PROCESS
In view of the expected significant demand and limited production capacity initially until the Sanand plant is fully ramped up to capacity, the Tata Nano will be available through a booking mode.
Tata Motors has entered into an exclusive agreement with the State Bank of India to manage the booking process.
The sale of application forms and acceptance of booking will start from April 9th 2009 till the end of day April 25th 2009. The application forms will be available at a price of Rs. 300, with a range of offers from select associate Tata Group companies. The application forms will be available at over 30,000 locations in about 1,000 cities through Tata Motors Passenger Car dealerships, State Bank of India and its branches, its subsidiaries and associates, other preferred financiers, and outlets of Westside, Croma, ‘World of Titan’ and Tata Indicom exclusive stores.
After collecting the forms, customers have two options. They can either pay the entire booking amount themselves or seek financing of the booking amount.
For those who seek financing, Tata Motors has entered into agreements with 15 preferred banks/NBFCs for the Tata Nano booking loan product. The booking product offered by these banks will enable a Tata Nano to be booked by paying an amount starting Rs. 2999/- only. Their chosen financier will directly submit their application forms to the State Bank of India on their behalf.
Those, who choose to themselves pay their entire booking amount, can submit their application forms to State Bank of India through 1,350 notified branches in 850 cites, and also at Tata Motors Passenger Car dealerships, Westside and Croma outlets. Option to submit bookings online is available at www.tatanano.com.
Within 60 days of the closure of bookings, Tata Motors will process and announce the allotment of 100,000 cars in the first phase of deliveries, through a computerised random selection procedure. These 100,000 allotments will be price protected for the launch prices till delivery of the cars but the booking amounts will not bear any interest for the customers. Deliveries will commence from July 2009
Applicants have the option to retain their booking deposit, even if they do not get allotment in the first phase. Those who choose this option will be eligible for interest on their deposit, effective from the date of announcement of allotment of the second phase, at a rate of 8.5% for retention period between one year to two year and 8.75% for a retention period of more than 2 years. Allotment of retainees will be simultaneously communicated, along with the allotment of the first 100,000 cars.
PREFERRED FINANCIERS
Tata Motors has entered into agreements with 15 preferred banks/NBFCs for the Tata Nano booking loan product. The preferred financial institutions are: State Bank of India, Tata Motor Finance, State Bank of Patiala, ICICI Bank, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Indore, Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank, Federal Bank, Corporation Bank, Indian Bank, and the Central Bank of India. The updated list and details are available at www.tatanano.com
Monday, May 4, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
TATA NANO
IS THE Tata Nano the car the world has been waiting for, its launch this week a moment not only of automotive history but of real social significance? Or will it prove to be no more than a dazzling digression for its troubled maker? Fifteen months after its unveiling at the Delhi motor show, the cheapest and most talked-about car of modern times has gone on sale. The plainest version costs 1 lakh (100,000) rupees ($2,000), as promised by Ratan Tata (pictured above), the head of the Tata group and the driving force behind the project. At half the price of the next cheapest car on the market (the aged Maruti 800), the Nano will bring car ownership to people who would never previously have considered it. But it has not been an easy gestation.
Last October Tata Motors, India’s biggest indigenous vehicle-maker, abandoned the $292m factory that it had built in Singur, West Bengal, to make the Nano. Violent protests by farmers, stirred up by local politicians, over the state’s forced purchase of their land for the 1,000-acre site had left Tata with the choice of buying the protesters off or walking away. After much soul-searching, and having found an alternative site at Sanand in Gujarat, Mr Tata opted to start again. The decision has been costly. Some of the original investment has had to be written off and the new factory will cost $389m. Suppliers who had been setting up near the Singur operation have also had to start again.As a result the Nano’s launch is seven months behind schedule. When Sanand opens next year it will have an annual capacity of 250,000 units, extendable to 500,000. But for the moment an existing factory at Pantnagar in northern India has been converted to produce the car at a rate of 50,000 a year. With demand expected greatly to exceed supply, the first 100,000 Nanos will be allocated by lottery.Tata is making the best of a bad lot by asking prospective buyers to place deposits that come close to the full price of the car. Someone ordering the basic model will have to find $1,875 to place an order for a car with an on-the-road price (including taxes) of around $2,500. Anyone opting for better-kitted-out versions with air conditioning and electric windows will have to stump up nearly half as much again. For those who need credit, Tata has helpfully lined up 15 “preferred” banks and lenders.In the rush to get their hands on the first Nanos, customers are expected to place deposits worth up to $1 billion—money Tata will hold on to for at least three months before the allocation is completed. Those wishing to be considered for the second batch of cars will be paid interest (at well below the market rate) after a year, but Tata will get to keep at least $200m interest-free while it ramps up production.That is cash that Tata Motors could certainly do with. Ravi Kant, the firm’s boss, insists that earlier predictions that it will lose money on the Nano are wide of the mark: raw-material prices have helpfully fallen, a recent excise cut from 16% to 8% is not being passed on to customers and the majority of Nanos sold are likely to be the fancier, more profitable models. But according to Deepak Jain of Edelweiss Securities in Mumbai, Tata Motors faces a funding gap this year of at least $3.4 billion. About $1.4 billion of that is in the form of short-term loans raised for working capital, and $2 billion relates to the bridging loan taken out last year to finance its $2.3 billion purchase of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), a British premium carmaker, which must be either repaid or refinanced in June.In the last quarter of 2008 Tata Motors reported its first net loss for seven years, of $54m, as sales of medium-to-heavy commercial vehicles in India fell by nearly 60% and its share of a flat passenger-car market failed to improve, despite the launch of the well-received new Vista hatchback. During the same quarter an attempt to raise $885m through a rights issue ended up with Tata Sons, the group holding company, taking up 61% of the ordinary shares.Tata Motors’ credit rating is also under pressure. This month Moody’s cut its rating from B1 to B3 with a negative outlook, the second cut in five months, and this week Standard & Poor’s reduced it from BB- to B+. Mr Kant expresses confidence that despite the difficult credit-market conditions Tata Motors can handle the situation. But JLR adds substantially to his difficulties. Through sheer bad luck, Tata’s purchase of JLR in June 2008 coincided with the meltdown in rich-world car markets. “We had a strong start to 2008, with record sales,” says David Smith, JLR’s chief executive, “2007 was Land Rover’s third record year, we made £327m profit, and more in the first half of 2008, so we were very profitable.” Since then, however, sales have fallen 22% by volume despite a strong performance (albeit from a low base) by Jaguar, thanks to the success of its new XF saloon. Land Rover, the cash cow of the group for several years, has seen sales slide by a third. Since the summer, Tata has ploughed $1.2 billion of working capital into JLR, 1,800 jobs have been cut, a pay freeze has been agreed on with the unions and production has been slashed by up to 60%. The picture is not entirely bleak at JLR. Mr Smith says that inventories have been largely run down and production will resume after Easter at 70-75% of capacity. Jaguar’s XF is winning in consumer-satisfaction surveys, and Mr Smith is confident that the new XJ luxury saloon will be launched on time in July. Meanwhile, a JLR team is working with Tata in India to source cheaper parts. But without a recovery in its main markets, JLR will remain vulnerable. This week Mr Tata warned that JLR would not be able to carry on as it is without £500m ($730m) in loan guarantees from the British government. Mr Kant insists there is no buyer’s remorse on Tata’s part. But JLR is so big compared with the rest of the business—by next year it will contribute more than half of Tata Motors’ revenues, according to some estimates—that its fate will shape that of its Indian parent.In a different way, the same is true of the Nano, but the risk is as much reputational as financial. Rakesh Batra of Ernst & Young India, a consultancy, says rivals are watching closely, and Tata must succeed when it comes to quality, service and the availability of parts if the Nano is not to fall flat on its pert little nose. Undaunted, Mr Kant believes that the Nano is tapping into a social and economic revolution in India. “There is a paradigm shift under way in the country,” he says. “Through the explosive growth of cellphones and television, the aspirations of rural people are converging with urban people.” He also points to India’s plan to connect every village with a population of more than 1,000 to the road network by 2010. Nor are his ambitions for the Nano limited to India. The Nano Europa, a plusher version that meets Western safety and emissions standards, will go on sale in 2011, with an American version due a year or so later. “The interest in the Nano”,
Last October Tata Motors, India’s biggest indigenous vehicle-maker, abandoned the $292m factory that it had built in Singur, West Bengal, to make the Nano. Violent protests by farmers, stirred up by local politicians, over the state’s forced purchase of their land for the 1,000-acre site had left Tata with the choice of buying the protesters off or walking away. After much soul-searching, and having found an alternative site at Sanand in Gujarat, Mr Tata opted to start again. The decision has been costly. Some of the original investment has had to be written off and the new factory will cost $389m. Suppliers who had been setting up near the Singur operation have also had to start again.As a result the Nano’s launch is seven months behind schedule. When Sanand opens next year it will have an annual capacity of 250,000 units, extendable to 500,000. But for the moment an existing factory at Pantnagar in northern India has been converted to produce the car at a rate of 50,000 a year. With demand expected greatly to exceed supply, the first 100,000 Nanos will be allocated by lottery.Tata is making the best of a bad lot by asking prospective buyers to place deposits that come close to the full price of the car. Someone ordering the basic model will have to find $1,875 to place an order for a car with an on-the-road price (including taxes) of around $2,500. Anyone opting for better-kitted-out versions with air conditioning and electric windows will have to stump up nearly half as much again. For those who need credit, Tata has helpfully lined up 15 “preferred” banks and lenders.In the rush to get their hands on the first Nanos, customers are expected to place deposits worth up to $1 billion—money Tata will hold on to for at least three months before the allocation is completed. Those wishing to be considered for the second batch of cars will be paid interest (at well below the market rate) after a year, but Tata will get to keep at least $200m interest-free while it ramps up production.That is cash that Tata Motors could certainly do with. Ravi Kant, the firm’s boss, insists that earlier predictions that it will lose money on the Nano are wide of the mark: raw-material prices have helpfully fallen, a recent excise cut from 16% to 8% is not being passed on to customers and the majority of Nanos sold are likely to be the fancier, more profitable models. But according to Deepak Jain of Edelweiss Securities in Mumbai, Tata Motors faces a funding gap this year of at least $3.4 billion. About $1.4 billion of that is in the form of short-term loans raised for working capital, and $2 billion relates to the bridging loan taken out last year to finance its $2.3 billion purchase of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), a British premium carmaker, which must be either repaid or refinanced in June.In the last quarter of 2008 Tata Motors reported its first net loss for seven years, of $54m, as sales of medium-to-heavy commercial vehicles in India fell by nearly 60% and its share of a flat passenger-car market failed to improve, despite the launch of the well-received new Vista hatchback. During the same quarter an attempt to raise $885m through a rights issue ended up with Tata Sons, the group holding company, taking up 61% of the ordinary shares.Tata Motors’ credit rating is also under pressure. This month Moody’s cut its rating from B1 to B3 with a negative outlook, the second cut in five months, and this week Standard & Poor’s reduced it from BB- to B+. Mr Kant expresses confidence that despite the difficult credit-market conditions Tata Motors can handle the situation. But JLR adds substantially to his difficulties. Through sheer bad luck, Tata’s purchase of JLR in June 2008 coincided with the meltdown in rich-world car markets. “We had a strong start to 2008, with record sales,” says David Smith, JLR’s chief executive, “2007 was Land Rover’s third record year, we made £327m profit, and more in the first half of 2008, so we were very profitable.” Since then, however, sales have fallen 22% by volume despite a strong performance (albeit from a low base) by Jaguar, thanks to the success of its new XF saloon. Land Rover, the cash cow of the group for several years, has seen sales slide by a third. Since the summer, Tata has ploughed $1.2 billion of working capital into JLR, 1,800 jobs have been cut, a pay freeze has been agreed on with the unions and production has been slashed by up to 60%. The picture is not entirely bleak at JLR. Mr Smith says that inventories have been largely run down and production will resume after Easter at 70-75% of capacity. Jaguar’s XF is winning in consumer-satisfaction surveys, and Mr Smith is confident that the new XJ luxury saloon will be launched on time in July. Meanwhile, a JLR team is working with Tata in India to source cheaper parts. But without a recovery in its main markets, JLR will remain vulnerable. This week Mr Tata warned that JLR would not be able to carry on as it is without £500m ($730m) in loan guarantees from the British government. Mr Kant insists there is no buyer’s remorse on Tata’s part. But JLR is so big compared with the rest of the business—by next year it will contribute more than half of Tata Motors’ revenues, according to some estimates—that its fate will shape that of its Indian parent.In a different way, the same is true of the Nano, but the risk is as much reputational as financial. Rakesh Batra of Ernst & Young India, a consultancy, says rivals are watching closely, and Tata must succeed when it comes to quality, service and the availability of parts if the Nano is not to fall flat on its pert little nose. Undaunted, Mr Kant believes that the Nano is tapping into a social and economic revolution in India. “There is a paradigm shift under way in the country,” he says. “Through the explosive growth of cellphones and television, the aspirations of rural people are converging with urban people.” He also points to India’s plan to connect every village with a population of more than 1,000 to the road network by 2010. Nor are his ambitions for the Nano limited to India. The Nano Europa, a plusher version that meets Western safety and emissions standards, will go on sale in 2011, with an American version due a year or so later. “The interest in the Nano”,
Sunday, November 30, 2008
TATA NANO
Overview
The introduction of the Nano received media attention due to it's targeted low price. The car is expected to boost the Indian Economy, create entrepreneurial-opportunities across India[11][12], as well as expand the Indian car market by 65%[13]. The car was envisioned by, Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group and Tata Motors, who has described it as an eco-friendly "people's car". Nano has been greatly appreciated by many sources and the media for its low-cost[14][15] and eco-friendly initiatives which include using compressed-air as fuel[16] and an electric-version (E-Nano)[17][18]. Tata Group is expected to mass-manufacture the Nano in large quantities, particularly the electric-version, and, besides selling them in India, to also export them world-wide[19][20][21].
Critics of the car have questioned its safety in India (where reportedly 90,000 people are killed in road-accidents every year[22]), and have also criticised the pollution that it would cause[23] (including criticism by Nobel Peace Prize-winning scientist, Rajendra Pachauri[24]). However, Tata Motors has promised that it would definitely release Nano's eco-friendly variants alongside the gasoline-variant[25][26].
Due to opposition to Tata's Singur car-factory by Mamta Banerjee, Tata Motors decided to cease operations in Singur on 2 October 2008 and started manufacturing Tata Nano at its Pantnagar plant. On her protests and the consequent pullout, the media heavily critcised her and The Telegraph even said[27]: "India is being raped by those who profess to be her soldiers, the guardians of peace." Financial Times reported[28]: "If ever there were a symbol of India’s ambitions to become a modern nation, it would surely be the Nano, the tiny car with the even tinier price-tag. A triumph of homegrown engineering, the $2,200 (€1,490, £1,186) Nano encapsulates the dream of millions of Indians groping for a shot at urban prosperity. That process has stalled...No big economy has prospered without undergoing a huge, often brutal, shift of labour from the countryside to cities and from farms to factories...There is a yawning gap with China. India’s information technology and service sector, no matter how dynamic, simply cannot absorb enough labour. To truly shine, India will need millions, perhaps tens of millions, more manufacturing jobs. Why has it not created them?"
Currently, Tata Motors is reportedly manufacturing Nano at its existing Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) plant and a mother plant has been proposed for Sanand Gujarat.[2] The company is hoping to produce 50 Nanos per day in Pantnagar by January–March 2009[29]. Ratan Tata has said that Nano will be brought within set timelines[30]. Not many dealers will be appointed till March 2009. The company will bank on existing dealer network for Nano initially.[31] The new Nano Plant could have a capacity of 5,00,000 units, compared to 3,00,000 for Singur. Gujarat has also agreed to match all the incentives offered by West Bengal government.[32]
[edit]
Introduction
[edit]
Conception and design
The project to create the world's cheapest production car began in 2003, under the Chairman of Tata Motors, Ratan Tata, [33] inspired by the number of Indian families with two-wheeled rather than four-wheeled transport[34]. The Nano's development has been tempered by the company's success in producing the low cost 4 wheeled Ace truck in May 2005.[33]
Contrary to speculation that the car might be a simple four-wheeled auto rickshaw, The Times of India reported the vehicle is "a properly designed and built car".[35] The Chairman is reported to have said, "It is not a car with plastic curtains or no roof — it's a real car."[33]
To achieve its design parameters, Tata has refined the manufacturing process, emphasized innovation and sought new design approaches from suppliers.[35] The car was designed at Italy's Institute of Development in Automotive Engineering — with Ratan Tata requesting certain changes, such the elimination of one of two windscreen wipers.[33]
The Nano has 21% more interior space and an 8% smaller exterior, when compared with its closest rival, the Maruti 800. The car will come in different versions, including one standard and two deluxe variants. The deluxe version will have air conditioning, but no power steering. The car was expected to be produced in the Singur plant in West Bengal, but due to politically-motivated agitations instigated by the Trinamool Congress, mother plant has been shifted to Sanand in Gujarat. The initial production target set by Tata Motors is 250,000 units per year.
[edit]
Expectations
According to one report, India as well as other nations, such as European nations[36], have great expectations from the Nano and are keenly and eagerly awaiting it, especially the electric version of the Nano[37], which is expected to be released in 2008[38], making it in all probability the "world's cheapest electric car" officially on record[39][40]. The car itself is expected to boost the Indian Economy as well as expand the Indian car market by 65%, according to rating agency CRISIL.[41]
[edit]
Benevolent opportunities for local-entrepreneurs
[edit]
Modular design
BusinessWeek says[42][43]:“
The Nano is constructed of components that can be built and shipped separately to be assembled in a variety of locations. In effect, the Nano is being sold in kits that are distributed, assembled, and serviced by local entrepreneurs. As Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata group of companies, observed in an interview with The Times of London: "A bunch of entrepreneurs could establish an assembly operation and Tata Motors would train their people, would oversee their quality assurance and they would become satellite assembly operations for us. So we would create entrepreneurs across the country that would produce the car. We would produce the mass items and ship it to them as kits. That is my idea of dispersing wealth. The service person would be like an insurance agent who would be trained, have a cell phone and scooter and would be assigned to a set of customers."
In fact, Tata envisions going even further, providing the tools for local mechanics to assemble the car in existing auto shops or even in new garages created to cater to remote rural customers. With the exception of Manjeet Kripalani, BusinessWeek's India bureau chief, few have focused on this breakthrough element of the Nano innovation (BusinessWeek.com, 1/10/08). ”
[edit]
Pricing strategy
Tata initially targeted the vehicle as "the least expensive production car in the world"[5] — aiming for a starting price of 100,000 rupees or approximately $2050 US[44][45] despite rapidly rising material prices.[46]
As of August 2008, material costs have risen from 13% to 23% over the car’s development,[47] and Tata now faces the choice of:
introducing the car with an artificially low price through govt-subsidies and tax-breaks, or
foregoing profit on the car, or
using vertical-integration, or
partially using inexpensive polymers or biodegradable plastics instead of a full metal-body, or
raising the price of the car
An increased price on the Nano will likely decrease demand.[47]
[edit]
Release-date This article or section needs to be updated. Please update the article to reflect recent events or newly available information, and remove this template when finished.
As of 30 November 2008, Tata Motors has not yet announced any release-date for the Nano and the future of the car remains uncertain, with some sources expecting it to be released in 2008[48] and others in 2009[citation needed]. Currently, no orders for the car are being taken but it has been announced that Nano will be finally manufactured in Sanand and Pantnagar. Some sources expect Nano's electric- and gasoline-variants to be released in 2008[49], and the diesel-variant in late or mid-2009[50], though both dates remain uncertain due to lack of any official announcement.
[edit]
Others
Effect on Indian Economy
Economic Times quotes[51]:“
Tata Nano’s launch could expand the Indian car market by 65%, according to rating agency CRISIL. The low price makes the car affordable for families with incomes of Rs 1 lakh per annum, the agency said. The increase in the market is expected to push up car sales by 20% over the previous year. “The unveiling of Tata Nano, the cheapest car in the world, triggers an important event in the car market. Based on the statement by company officials, CRISIL Research estimates the consumer price of the car at around Rs 1.3 lakh. This brings down the cost of ownership of an entry level car in India by 30%,” the company said in a report. ”
Thus, the Indian Economy is expected to remain strong and grow in 2008 and beyond, despite the temporary financial turmoil in the US, because the car will also lead to a boost in other sectors of the Indian Economy besides the auto-market.
However, due to the current Singur land dispute, the "Stalled Car Factory" is "Costing Jobs, Splitting Neighbors in West Bengal"[52]
VOANews quotes[53]:“
Tata's problems in West Bengal are scaring off other industries hoping to locate here, including Infosys, a software maker that wants to build a business park that would provide 5,000 jobs.
Kartik Chandra Malik, 57, runs a tea shop near the boundary wall of Tata's Nano factory.
He says he is frustrated that the factory has been stopped. He says wants it to open, because when it is open he can do more business selling tea and biscuits. He is hoping his son, who just graduated from college, will get a good job at the factory.
Many of Malik's neighbors in Barispada are tight-lipped when it comes to talking about Tata's troubles. There is growing tension in the villages near the Tata factory as the protests continue and the plant remains closed. The Tata crisis pits neighbors against each other.
Malik says many of his neighbors are being pressured by opposition groups to protest against the carmaker. But many here already have jobs lined up at the factory or hope to.
A young man at Malik's tea shop said he got a job loading trucks at the Tata plant. For that, many of neighbors have called him a traitor. ”
Guinness Book of World Records
IBN mentioned[54]:“
The ambitious Nano car has not rolled out of the assembly line of the makers Tata's plants yet. But it is already in the Guinness book as the world's cheapest car. ”
Comparison with Model T
Some news-sources have compared Ratan Tata's Tata Nano with Henry Ford's Model T that co-incidentally was built around a century ago. Livemint said[55]:“
Ford Motor Co. is rich because Henry Ford used the assembly-line to produce the Model T in 1908. Ratan Tata is a late entrepreneur, making the Nano in 2008.
India is 100 years behind. But we are waking up to the possibility of catching up. I just hope our planners wake up soon. ”
Times of India mentioned[56]:“
This raises the question: How have the Tatas accomplished such a task? Pursuing this question a fascinating story unfolds that reminds one of Henry Ford's Model T that was built exactly one hundred years ago (September 1908). Ford wanted to make a car for the multitude, not for the elite, with the best material and the best design that the technology of his time could devise, and he wanted to make it, above all, at a price that was affordable. This is the example that Ratan Tata has followed with determination. When he announced the price of his car in an interview to the ‘Financial Times’ during the Geneva Motor Show, his colleagues were 'aghast', but he had set his goal. ”
[edit]
Technical specifications
According to Tata Group's Chairman Ratan Tata, the Nano is a 33 PS (33 hp/24 kW) car with a 623 cc rear engine and rear wheel drive, and has a fuel economy of 4.55 L/100 km (21.97 km/L, 51.7 mpg (US), 62 mpg (UK)) under city road conditions, and 3.85 L/100 km on highways (25.97 km/L, 61.1 mpg (US), 73.3 mpg (UK)). It is the first time a two-cylinder non-opposed petrol engine will be used in a car with a single balancer shaft.[57] Tata Motors has reportedly filed 34 patents related to the innovations in the design of Nano, with powertrain accounting for over half of them.[58] The project head, Girish Wagh has been credited with being one of the brains behind Nano's design.[58][59]
Much has been made of Tata's patents pending for the Nano. Yet during a news conference at the New Delhi Auto Expo, Ratan Tata pointed out none of these is revolutionary or represents earth-shaking technology. He said most relate to rather mundane items such as the two-cylinder engine’s balancer shaft, and how the gears were cut in the transmission.
Though the car has been appreciated by many sources, including Reuters due to "the way it has tweaked existing technologies to target an as-yet untapped segment of the market", yet it has been stated by the same sources that Nano is not quite "revolutionary in its technology", just low in price[60]. Moreover, technologies which are expected of the new and yet-to-be-released car include a revolutionary compressed-air fuel system[61] and an eco-friendly electric-version[62], technologies on which Tata is reportedly already working, though no official incorporation-date for these technologies in the new car has been released.
According to Tata, the Nano complies with Bharat Stage-III and Euro-IV emission standards[63]. Ratan Tata also said, 'The car has passed the full-frontal crash and the side impact crash'.[64]. Tata Nano passed the required 'homologation’ tests with Pune-based Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).This means that the car has met all the specified criteria for roadworthiness laid out by the government including emissions or noise & vibration and can now ply on Indian roads. Tata Nano managed to score around 24 km per litre during its ‘homologation’ tests with ARAI. This makes Tata Nano the most fuel efficient car in India. Nano will be the first car in India to display the actual fuel mileage figures it recorded at ARAI’s tests on its windshield. According to ARAI it conforms to Euro IV emission standards which will come into effect in India in 2010.[65]
Rear mounted engine
The use of a rear mounted engine to help maximize interior space makes the Nano similar to the original Fiat 500, another technically innovative "people's car". A concept vehicle similar in styling to the Nano, also with rear engined layout was proposed by the UK Rover Group in the 1990s to succeed the original Mini but was not put into production.[66] The eventual new Mini was much larger and technically conservative. The independent, and now-defunct, MG Rover Group later based their Rover CityRover on the Tata Indica.
Tata is also reported to be contemplating offering a compressed air engine as an option [67]
The introduction of the Nano received media attention due to it's targeted low price. The car is expected to boost the Indian Economy, create entrepreneurial-opportunities across India[11][12], as well as expand the Indian car market by 65%[13]. The car was envisioned by, Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group and Tata Motors, who has described it as an eco-friendly "people's car". Nano has been greatly appreciated by many sources and the media for its low-cost[14][15] and eco-friendly initiatives which include using compressed-air as fuel[16] and an electric-version (E-Nano)[17][18]. Tata Group is expected to mass-manufacture the Nano in large quantities, particularly the electric-version, and, besides selling them in India, to also export them world-wide[19][20][21].
Critics of the car have questioned its safety in India (where reportedly 90,000 people are killed in road-accidents every year[22]), and have also criticised the pollution that it would cause[23] (including criticism by Nobel Peace Prize-winning scientist, Rajendra Pachauri[24]). However, Tata Motors has promised that it would definitely release Nano's eco-friendly variants alongside the gasoline-variant[25][26].
Due to opposition to Tata's Singur car-factory by Mamta Banerjee, Tata Motors decided to cease operations in Singur on 2 October 2008 and started manufacturing Tata Nano at its Pantnagar plant. On her protests and the consequent pullout, the media heavily critcised her and The Telegraph even said[27]: "India is being raped by those who profess to be her soldiers, the guardians of peace." Financial Times reported[28]: "If ever there were a symbol of India’s ambitions to become a modern nation, it would surely be the Nano, the tiny car with the even tinier price-tag. A triumph of homegrown engineering, the $2,200 (€1,490, £1,186) Nano encapsulates the dream of millions of Indians groping for a shot at urban prosperity. That process has stalled...No big economy has prospered without undergoing a huge, often brutal, shift of labour from the countryside to cities and from farms to factories...There is a yawning gap with China. India’s information technology and service sector, no matter how dynamic, simply cannot absorb enough labour. To truly shine, India will need millions, perhaps tens of millions, more manufacturing jobs. Why has it not created them?"
Currently, Tata Motors is reportedly manufacturing Nano at its existing Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) plant and a mother plant has been proposed for Sanand Gujarat.[2] The company is hoping to produce 50 Nanos per day in Pantnagar by January–March 2009[29]. Ratan Tata has said that Nano will be brought within set timelines[30]. Not many dealers will be appointed till March 2009. The company will bank on existing dealer network for Nano initially.[31] The new Nano Plant could have a capacity of 5,00,000 units, compared to 3,00,000 for Singur. Gujarat has also agreed to match all the incentives offered by West Bengal government.[32]
[edit]
Introduction
[edit]
Conception and design
The project to create the world's cheapest production car began in 2003, under the Chairman of Tata Motors, Ratan Tata, [33] inspired by the number of Indian families with two-wheeled rather than four-wheeled transport[34]. The Nano's development has been tempered by the company's success in producing the low cost 4 wheeled Ace truck in May 2005.[33]
Contrary to speculation that the car might be a simple four-wheeled auto rickshaw, The Times of India reported the vehicle is "a properly designed and built car".[35] The Chairman is reported to have said, "It is not a car with plastic curtains or no roof — it's a real car."[33]
To achieve its design parameters, Tata has refined the manufacturing process, emphasized innovation and sought new design approaches from suppliers.[35] The car was designed at Italy's Institute of Development in Automotive Engineering — with Ratan Tata requesting certain changes, such the elimination of one of two windscreen wipers.[33]
The Nano has 21% more interior space and an 8% smaller exterior, when compared with its closest rival, the Maruti 800. The car will come in different versions, including one standard and two deluxe variants. The deluxe version will have air conditioning, but no power steering. The car was expected to be produced in the Singur plant in West Bengal, but due to politically-motivated agitations instigated by the Trinamool Congress, mother plant has been shifted to Sanand in Gujarat. The initial production target set by Tata Motors is 250,000 units per year.
[edit]
Expectations
According to one report, India as well as other nations, such as European nations[36], have great expectations from the Nano and are keenly and eagerly awaiting it, especially the electric version of the Nano[37], which is expected to be released in 2008[38], making it in all probability the "world's cheapest electric car" officially on record[39][40]. The car itself is expected to boost the Indian Economy as well as expand the Indian car market by 65%, according to rating agency CRISIL.[41]
[edit]
Benevolent opportunities for local-entrepreneurs
[edit]
Modular design
BusinessWeek says[42][43]:“
The Nano is constructed of components that can be built and shipped separately to be assembled in a variety of locations. In effect, the Nano is being sold in kits that are distributed, assembled, and serviced by local entrepreneurs. As Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata group of companies, observed in an interview with The Times of London: "A bunch of entrepreneurs could establish an assembly operation and Tata Motors would train their people, would oversee their quality assurance and they would become satellite assembly operations for us. So we would create entrepreneurs across the country that would produce the car. We would produce the mass items and ship it to them as kits. That is my idea of dispersing wealth. The service person would be like an insurance agent who would be trained, have a cell phone and scooter and would be assigned to a set of customers."
In fact, Tata envisions going even further, providing the tools for local mechanics to assemble the car in existing auto shops or even in new garages created to cater to remote rural customers. With the exception of Manjeet Kripalani, BusinessWeek's India bureau chief, few have focused on this breakthrough element of the Nano innovation (BusinessWeek.com, 1/10/08). ”
[edit]
Pricing strategy
Tata initially targeted the vehicle as "the least expensive production car in the world"[5] — aiming for a starting price of 100,000 rupees or approximately $2050 US[44][45] despite rapidly rising material prices.[46]
As of August 2008, material costs have risen from 13% to 23% over the car’s development,[47] and Tata now faces the choice of:
introducing the car with an artificially low price through govt-subsidies and tax-breaks, or
foregoing profit on the car, or
using vertical-integration, or
partially using inexpensive polymers or biodegradable plastics instead of a full metal-body, or
raising the price of the car
An increased price on the Nano will likely decrease demand.[47]
[edit]
Release-date This article or section needs to be updated. Please update the article to reflect recent events or newly available information, and remove this template when finished.
As of 30 November 2008, Tata Motors has not yet announced any release-date for the Nano and the future of the car remains uncertain, with some sources expecting it to be released in 2008[48] and others in 2009[citation needed]. Currently, no orders for the car are being taken but it has been announced that Nano will be finally manufactured in Sanand and Pantnagar. Some sources expect Nano's electric- and gasoline-variants to be released in 2008[49], and the diesel-variant in late or mid-2009[50], though both dates remain uncertain due to lack of any official announcement.
[edit]
Others
Effect on Indian Economy
Economic Times quotes[51]:“
Tata Nano’s launch could expand the Indian car market by 65%, according to rating agency CRISIL. The low price makes the car affordable for families with incomes of Rs 1 lakh per annum, the agency said. The increase in the market is expected to push up car sales by 20% over the previous year. “The unveiling of Tata Nano, the cheapest car in the world, triggers an important event in the car market. Based on the statement by company officials, CRISIL Research estimates the consumer price of the car at around Rs 1.3 lakh. This brings down the cost of ownership of an entry level car in India by 30%,” the company said in a report. ”
Thus, the Indian Economy is expected to remain strong and grow in 2008 and beyond, despite the temporary financial turmoil in the US, because the car will also lead to a boost in other sectors of the Indian Economy besides the auto-market.
However, due to the current Singur land dispute, the "Stalled Car Factory" is "Costing Jobs, Splitting Neighbors in West Bengal"[52]
VOANews quotes[53]:“
Tata's problems in West Bengal are scaring off other industries hoping to locate here, including Infosys, a software maker that wants to build a business park that would provide 5,000 jobs.
Kartik Chandra Malik, 57, runs a tea shop near the boundary wall of Tata's Nano factory.
He says he is frustrated that the factory has been stopped. He says wants it to open, because when it is open he can do more business selling tea and biscuits. He is hoping his son, who just graduated from college, will get a good job at the factory.
Many of Malik's neighbors in Barispada are tight-lipped when it comes to talking about Tata's troubles. There is growing tension in the villages near the Tata factory as the protests continue and the plant remains closed. The Tata crisis pits neighbors against each other.
Malik says many of his neighbors are being pressured by opposition groups to protest against the carmaker. But many here already have jobs lined up at the factory or hope to.
A young man at Malik's tea shop said he got a job loading trucks at the Tata plant. For that, many of neighbors have called him a traitor. ”
Guinness Book of World Records
IBN mentioned[54]:“
The ambitious Nano car has not rolled out of the assembly line of the makers Tata's plants yet. But it is already in the Guinness book as the world's cheapest car. ”
Comparison with Model T
Some news-sources have compared Ratan Tata's Tata Nano with Henry Ford's Model T that co-incidentally was built around a century ago. Livemint said[55]:“
Ford Motor Co. is rich because Henry Ford used the assembly-line to produce the Model T in 1908. Ratan Tata is a late entrepreneur, making the Nano in 2008.
India is 100 years behind. But we are waking up to the possibility of catching up. I just hope our planners wake up soon. ”
Times of India mentioned[56]:“
This raises the question: How have the Tatas accomplished such a task? Pursuing this question a fascinating story unfolds that reminds one of Henry Ford's Model T that was built exactly one hundred years ago (September 1908). Ford wanted to make a car for the multitude, not for the elite, with the best material and the best design that the technology of his time could devise, and he wanted to make it, above all, at a price that was affordable. This is the example that Ratan Tata has followed with determination. When he announced the price of his car in an interview to the ‘Financial Times’ during the Geneva Motor Show, his colleagues were 'aghast', but he had set his goal. ”
[edit]
Technical specifications
According to Tata Group's Chairman Ratan Tata, the Nano is a 33 PS (33 hp/24 kW) car with a 623 cc rear engine and rear wheel drive, and has a fuel economy of 4.55 L/100 km (21.97 km/L, 51.7 mpg (US), 62 mpg (UK)) under city road conditions, and 3.85 L/100 km on highways (25.97 km/L, 61.1 mpg (US), 73.3 mpg (UK)). It is the first time a two-cylinder non-opposed petrol engine will be used in a car with a single balancer shaft.[57] Tata Motors has reportedly filed 34 patents related to the innovations in the design of Nano, with powertrain accounting for over half of them.[58] The project head, Girish Wagh has been credited with being one of the brains behind Nano's design.[58][59]
Much has been made of Tata's patents pending for the Nano. Yet during a news conference at the New Delhi Auto Expo, Ratan Tata pointed out none of these is revolutionary or represents earth-shaking technology. He said most relate to rather mundane items such as the two-cylinder engine’s balancer shaft, and how the gears were cut in the transmission.
Though the car has been appreciated by many sources, including Reuters due to "the way it has tweaked existing technologies to target an as-yet untapped segment of the market", yet it has been stated by the same sources that Nano is not quite "revolutionary in its technology", just low in price[60]. Moreover, technologies which are expected of the new and yet-to-be-released car include a revolutionary compressed-air fuel system[61] and an eco-friendly electric-version[62], technologies on which Tata is reportedly already working, though no official incorporation-date for these technologies in the new car has been released.
According to Tata, the Nano complies with Bharat Stage-III and Euro-IV emission standards[63]. Ratan Tata also said, 'The car has passed the full-frontal crash and the side impact crash'.[64]. Tata Nano passed the required 'homologation’ tests with Pune-based Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).This means that the car has met all the specified criteria for roadworthiness laid out by the government including emissions or noise & vibration and can now ply on Indian roads. Tata Nano managed to score around 24 km per litre during its ‘homologation’ tests with ARAI. This makes Tata Nano the most fuel efficient car in India. Nano will be the first car in India to display the actual fuel mileage figures it recorded at ARAI’s tests on its windshield. According to ARAI it conforms to Euro IV emission standards which will come into effect in India in 2010.[65]
Rear mounted engine
The use of a rear mounted engine to help maximize interior space makes the Nano similar to the original Fiat 500, another technically innovative "people's car". A concept vehicle similar in styling to the Nano, also with rear engined layout was proposed by the UK Rover Group in the 1990s to succeed the original Mini but was not put into production.[66] The eventual new Mini was much larger and technically conservative. The independent, and now-defunct, MG Rover Group later based their Rover CityRover on the Tata Indica.
Tata is also reported to be contemplating offering a compressed air engine as an option [67]
Saturday, October 18, 2008
TATA NANO @ 2500$
Tata Motors unveils the People's Car
A comfortable, safe, all-weather car, high on fuel efficiency & low on emissions
Mr. Ratan N. Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group and Tata Motors, today unveiled the Tata 'NANO', the People's Car from Tata Motors that India and the world have been looking forward to. A development, which signifies a first for the global automobile industry, the People's Car brings the comfort and safety of a car within the reach of thousands of families. The People's Car will be launched in India later in 2008.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi, Mr. Ratan N. Tata said, "I observed families riding on two-wheelers - the father driving the scooter, his young kid standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him holding a little baby. It led me to wonder whether one could conceive of a safe, affordable, all-weather form of transport for such a family. Tata Motors' engineers and designers gave their all for about four years to realise this goal. Today, we indeed have a People's Car, which is affordable and yet built to meet safety requirements and emission norms, to be fuel efficient and low on emissions. We are happy to present the People's Car to India and we hope it brings the joy, pride and utility of owning a car to many families who need personal mobility."
Stylish, comfortable
The People's Car, designed with a family in mind, has a roomy passenger compartment with generous leg space and head room. It can comfortably seat four persons. Four doors with high seating position make ingress and egress easy.
Yet with a length of 3.1 metres, width of 1.5 metres and height of 1.6 metres, with adequate ground clearance, it can effortlessly manoeuvre on busy roads in cities as well as in rural areas. Its mono-volume design, with wheels at the corners and the powertrain at the rear, enables it to uniquely combine both space and manoeuvrability, which will set a new benchmark among small cars.
When launched, the car will be available in both standard and deluxe versions. Both versions will offer a wide range of body colours, and other accessories so that the car can be customised to an individual's preferences.
Fuel-efficient engine
The People's Car has a rear-wheel drive, all-aluminium, two-cylinder, 623 cc, 33 PS, multi point fuel injection petrol engine. This is the first time that a two-cylinder gasoline engine is being used in a car with single balancer shaft. The lean design strategy has helped minimise weight, which helps maximise performance per unit of energy consumed and delivers high fuel efficiency. Performance is controlled by a specially designed electronic engine management system.
Meets all safety requirements
The People's Car's safety performance exceeds current regulatory requirements. With an all sheet-metal body, it has a strong passenger compartment, 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. Tubeless tyres further enhance safety.
Environment-friendly
The People's Car's tailpipe emission performance exceeds regulatory requirements. In terms of overall pollutants, it has a lower pollution level than two-wheelers being manufactured in India today. The high fuel efficiency also ensures that the car has low carbon dioxide emissions, thereby providing the twin benefits of an affordable transportation solution with a low carbon footprint.
(For more information: www.tatapeoplescar.com )
About Tata Motors
Tata Motors is India's largest automobile company, with revenues of US $ 7.2 billion in 2006-2007. With over 4 million Tata vehicles plying in India, it is the leader in commercial vehicles and the second largest in passenger vehicles. It is also the world's fifth largest medium and heavy truck manufacturer and the second largest heavy bus manufacturer. Tata cars, buses and trucks are being marketed in several countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia and South America. Tata Motors and Fiat Auto have formed an industrial joint venture in India to manufacture passenger cars, engines and transmissions for the Indian and overseas markets; Tata Motors also has an agreement with Fiat Auto to build a pick-up vehicle at Córdoba, Argentina. The company already distributes Fiat branded cars in India. Tata Motors' international footprint includes Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Co. Ltd. in South Korea; Hispano Carrocera, a bus and coach manufacturer of Spain in which the company has a 21% stake; a joint venture with Marcopolo, the Brazil-based body-builder of buses and coaches; and a joint venture with Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant Company of Thailand to manufacture and market pick-up vehicles in Thailand. Tata Motors has research centres in India, the U.K., and in its subsidiary and associate companies in South Korea and Spain.
(For free broadcast-standard and streaming quality video content about Tata Motors, please log onto www.thenewsmarket.com/tatamotors. You can preview and request broadcast-standard video which will be delivered digitally or by tape. Registration and video is free to the media.)
- Ends -
A comfortable, safe, all-weather car, high on fuel efficiency & low on emissions
Mr. Ratan N. Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group and Tata Motors, today unveiled the Tata 'NANO', the People's Car from Tata Motors that India and the world have been looking forward to. A development, which signifies a first for the global automobile industry, the People's Car brings the comfort and safety of a car within the reach of thousands of families. The People's Car will be launched in India later in 2008.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi, Mr. Ratan N. Tata said, "I observed families riding on two-wheelers - the father driving the scooter, his young kid standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him holding a little baby. It led me to wonder whether one could conceive of a safe, affordable, all-weather form of transport for such a family. Tata Motors' engineers and designers gave their all for about four years to realise this goal. Today, we indeed have a People's Car, which is affordable and yet built to meet safety requirements and emission norms, to be fuel efficient and low on emissions. We are happy to present the People's Car to India and we hope it brings the joy, pride and utility of owning a car to many families who need personal mobility."
Stylish, comfortable
The People's Car, designed with a family in mind, has a roomy passenger compartment with generous leg space and head room. It can comfortably seat four persons. Four doors with high seating position make ingress and egress easy.
Yet with a length of 3.1 metres, width of 1.5 metres and height of 1.6 metres, with adequate ground clearance, it can effortlessly manoeuvre on busy roads in cities as well as in rural areas. Its mono-volume design, with wheels at the corners and the powertrain at the rear, enables it to uniquely combine both space and manoeuvrability, which will set a new benchmark among small cars.
When launched, the car will be available in both standard and deluxe versions. Both versions will offer a wide range of body colours, and other accessories so that the car can be customised to an individual's preferences.
Fuel-efficient engine
The People's Car has a rear-wheel drive, all-aluminium, two-cylinder, 623 cc, 33 PS, multi point fuel injection petrol engine. This is the first time that a two-cylinder gasoline engine is being used in a car with single balancer shaft. The lean design strategy has helped minimise weight, which helps maximise performance per unit of energy consumed and delivers high fuel efficiency. Performance is controlled by a specially designed electronic engine management system.
Meets all safety requirements
The People's Car's safety performance exceeds current regulatory requirements. With an all sheet-metal body, it has a strong passenger compartment, 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. Tubeless tyres further enhance safety.
Environment-friendly
The People's Car's tailpipe emission performance exceeds regulatory requirements. In terms of overall pollutants, it has a lower pollution level than two-wheelers being manufactured in India today. The high fuel efficiency also ensures that the car has low carbon dioxide emissions, thereby providing the twin benefits of an affordable transportation solution with a low carbon footprint.
(For more information: www.tatapeoplescar.com )
About Tata Motors
Tata Motors is India's largest automobile company, with revenues of US $ 7.2 billion in 2006-2007. With over 4 million Tata vehicles plying in India, it is the leader in commercial vehicles and the second largest in passenger vehicles. It is also the world's fifth largest medium and heavy truck manufacturer and the second largest heavy bus manufacturer. Tata cars, buses and trucks are being marketed in several countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia and South America. Tata Motors and Fiat Auto have formed an industrial joint venture in India to manufacture passenger cars, engines and transmissions for the Indian and overseas markets; Tata Motors also has an agreement with Fiat Auto to build a pick-up vehicle at Córdoba, Argentina. The company already distributes Fiat branded cars in India. Tata Motors' international footprint includes Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Co. Ltd. in South Korea; Hispano Carrocera, a bus and coach manufacturer of Spain in which the company has a 21% stake; a joint venture with Marcopolo, the Brazil-based body-builder of buses and coaches; and a joint venture with Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant Company of Thailand to manufacture and market pick-up vehicles in Thailand. Tata Motors has research centres in India, the U.K., and in its subsidiary and associate companies in South Korea and Spain.
(For free broadcast-standard and streaming quality video content about Tata Motors, please log onto www.thenewsmarket.com/tatamotors. You can preview and request broadcast-standard video which will be delivered digitally or by tape. Registration and video is free to the media.)
- Ends -
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