The Hindu Business Line : Mega plans for super mini

The big suspense surrounding the Rs 1-lakh car is over now, but like Mr Ratan Tata said at the launch today, the job for Tata Motors is going to be equally tough getting the Nano on the road and to keep his promise of delivering an affordable small car for the masses.

Tata Motors has big plans for its ultra-low cost super mini and has drawn up an aggressive roadmap for the introduction of the car’s many versions. The final production prototypes that were displayed today are just some of the variants that are eventually planned for the car.

Speaking to Business Line at the Tata Pavilion after the unveiling ceremony, Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group and Tata Motors, said that the company is exploring the possibility of equipping the Nano with both a diesel engine and a potential hybrid version.

Tata Motors has introduced the Nano with a petrol engine and a manual gearbox now. Mr Tata had mentioned last year that the car will be launched with a CVT (automatic) transmission.

Talking about the changes that have taken place in the car, Mr Tata said that the automatic gearbox could not be developed and tested to the satisfaction of Tata engineers and so the car has initially been launched with a manual gearbox. However, he mentioned that the CVT is also being considered and would eventually be introduced.

Other proposals

He also mentioned that two other proposals that Tata Motors was planning to incorporate at the initial stages of the project are still being considered such as the use of industrial adhesives to glue together pre-painted panels, instead of the traditional welding of metal body panels and the possibility of satellite assemblers for the car.

Overseas markets

Talking about the possibility of manufacturing a car like the Nano in other markets, Mr Tata said that the largest element of cost in the car is materials and that India is not necessarily the cheapest place for materials due to the high taxation and tariff structure. “Energy and materials are not cheap, but we have cheap labour and low cost engineering skills that enable the inputs to be offset a bit making us very viable,” he said.

We can look to manufacture this car in countries where material and energy costs are low and hope to achieve a similar price target, Mr Tata said. He added that the company will look to leveraging its partnership with Fiat Auto for sourcing technology and engineering skills.

Thai project

Tata Motors is said to be considering the manufacture of a mini car like the Nano for the market in Thailand, where the company’s manufacturing operations is said to be working on certain specifications that are required by the Thai Government. However, Tata Motor’s officials said that the Thai project would be different from the Indian low-cost car project

More Stories on : Cars | Outlook | New Products & Services | Tata Motors Ltd

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page