Ladies and Gentlemen, the booking of the People's car finally ceases. The time ends when you had to watch numerous ads in each site - "BOOK YOUR TATA NANO".
Now, will I get my Nano?
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Tata Motors will anounce the names of people who have got their much wanted and awaited car very soon.
It could be you, perhaps.
SO, goodluck.
KOLKATA: Kolkata-based Uco Bank said it is going to sign an agreement with Tata Motors in order to offer loans to people planning to book Nano.
Bank chairman S K Goel said here on Friday that the agreement would be signed next week.
Uco Bank has also announced a car financing pact with Maruti Suzuki India on Friday to boost its auto loan business. The bank is also talking to a host of other auto makers including Bajaj Auto and Mahindra & Mahindra for financing agreements, Mr Goel said.
The bank has also slashed its benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by 50 basis points to 12% effective from April 1. Elaborating on the proposed agreement with Tata Motors, Mr Goel said Uco would offer loans to customers fully or partly for making the initial deposit for booking Nano. The bank would charge a 10% interest rate per annum on the loan. Customers would need to deposit Rs 95,000 for booking the basic model of Nano.
The bank would also convert the initial booking loan to a regular car loan if the customer gets allotment of Nano and seeks financing support for a longer term. The interest rate for the car loan then would depend upon the prevailing interest rates, Mr Goel said.
At present, the bank offers car loans at 11.75% a year. The rate stands reduced to 11% per annum in case a borrower offers full collateral security against the loan. Uco's car loans are linked to its BPLR and so the rates will fall from April 1.
People planning to take loans from Uco or, for that matter, any other Tata Motors preferred financiers, for booking Nano would need to submit the application forms to State Bank of India (SBI) which is Tata Motors exclusive partner for managing the entire booking process.
Tata Motors has earlier said that it has already entered into agreements with some 15 banks and NBFCs for the Tata Nano booking loan product. Customers will need to collect application forms from Tata Motors Passenger Car dealerships, SBI and its branches, subsidiaries and associates, other preferred financiers, and outlets of Westside, Croma,
World of Titan and Tata Indicom exclusive stores.
Others Said No, He Says Nano: Ratan Tata Drives The One-Lakh Talk, Pulls Off A One In A Billion Coup
New Delhi: Outside, the eager crowd reminds you of a cricket stadium before an ODI game. Big securitymen form an uncompromising barricade with a thick rope. Finally, they see reason and relent.
Once inside, the conduct of the guards is easier to understand. There are already enough people inside to make a politician happy, if he was delivering an election speech. Standing out in the crowd is a bored leggy blonde in a shimmering silver dress leaning by a bright red car. At the moment, few, if any, are looking at her.
For what everybody has gathered to see at Hall No 11 in Pragati Maidan is not just another small car. They come to see hope emerge on wheels. For this ‘lakhtakia' car, as the man on the street has already named it, has enabled millions to dream of a life beyond the motorbike. And, to the discerning observer, has the potential of changing the demography of car ownership in India.
As Ratan Tata himself would say later in the day, it was the image of a lower-middle-class man on a scooter — the elder kid standing in front of the driver-father and the wife riding pillion with a baby on her lap — that kept playing on his mind. "Why can't this family own a car?" Tata's Rs 1 lakh car project was the outcome of that nagging image that kept tugging at his soul. Yet sceptics had wondered disbelievingly, even laughed, at his daring and passion. The Thursday launch was the moment of truth.
In the hall, plenty of firangs float around in dark suits lugging laptops. The seats are all taken. The stage is huge. The lights are low. And the floor has a blue-green tinge. You almost expect a Bollywood troupe to jump out and boogie to foot-stomping tracks.
None of that. First, a short, crisp recorded speech of Tata is played on a screen. He praises his colleagues, takes a crack at detractors such as the Suzuki boss who had predicted in 2006 that the car wasn't possible. Thundering applause comes when Tata says the car has ample safety features. And that it will be environment-friendly.
Then the curtain rises. As he drives on to the stage in a cream Nano, the audience gasps. First impression: small is beautiful. "Some people said that we should call it a ‘Buddha car', while others said that we should call it ‘Mamata' or ‘Despite Mamata'. We decided we will call it ‘Nano'," says Tata, drawing laughter from the crowd. "But then, since it is high-tech and small, we called it Nano." Then he adds: "The car will be priced at Rs 1 lakh. A promise is a promise."
Big wow for small car
New Delhi: After talking to those who turned up on the first day for a dekko, one feels that the car is like a multi-layered movie that means different things to different people. Young Mohit Saluja's businessman father has three cars, including a Honda Civic.
But he has already fallen for the cool and cute toy. "It could be an alternative bike for guys like me. These days college-going kids pester parents for a car. This is a car they can afford to gift to their kids," he says.
Neel Kamal takes a bus to her office in Supreme Court. "I never thought we could afford a second car. But this is affordable and it gives good mileage. So one can think about it," she says.
There are others—some with three, even four cars, who now want a Nano. Simply because they have the money to indulge. Faridabad car dealer Gulshan Kharbanda feels the car will fetch a decent premium of at least Rs 20,000 in its initial phase. Mohan Singh, a staffer at the Crafts Museum, is convinced the car is made for him. "I have a Pulsar bike which cost Rs 62,500. I'll sell it and buy this car because the family will be able to travel together in it. It's mileage is also good, so running costs wouldn't be high."
But for Manu Lal, a migrant from Bihar's Motihari district, the ‘lakhtakiya' car is still a bridge too far. "I am an electrician. I earn Rs 6,000 a month. I am barely able to send anything back home. A cycle is OK. But to spend Rs 1 lakh is like Mungeri Lal ke haseen sapne."
Nano: Dictionary meaning, one billionth of a unit
The Nano has prompted an avalanche of praise from visiting foreign correspondents. Some of them wondered at the economy car; others felt the launch was further affirmation of the India growth story.
An estimated 500 foreign journalists are reporting on the ongoing Auto Expo. One of them, Duncan Tift of Birmingham Post, said that in the UK it was difficult to get an equivalent point of reference. "To be able to come up with something like this at such a low price is staggering. There are more expensive bicycles in UK," said Tift, who admitted he was in town primarily to get the latest on Tata's Jaguar and Land Rover deal.Waiel SH Awwad of the newspaper Al Arabiya says that he was impressed by Ratan Tata for delivering the promised Rs 1 lakh car. "I think the car will be historic because it will bring down prices," he said. He added: "The Tatas have a good image in Syria and north Africa for their products such as steel, buses and two-wheelers. It is a known name in the Arab world." Evgeny Bezeka of the Russian news agency Novosti was impressed by the good-looking car. "You feel like getting inside it. That's its charm," he said.
Bezeka said that there's no equivalent to such a small car in Russia. "We have the Lada which would cost over Rs 2 lakh in Indian currency. It uses a 40-year-old technology," he said.
For Sophie, a French magazine journalist, Nano looks like "a three-wheeler on four wheels". "But I wouldn't like to make a judgment on the car itself. I'm here because there's great interest in India in the West."
Ratan Tata is a hero to a nation that sometimes feels starved of heroes. He knows it too. Mr Tata has used the emotional route before, when he announced his first passenger car years before it became a reality. It takes a certain courage to play with the expectations of a huge nation and then stick to the plot and deliver the goods. The Indica had a hungry audience when the car was finally launched. A car that was cheap to buy and run, it went on to become a huge success story and propelled Tata Motors to the third largest passenger car maker's position in the country. This time round, he has flirted with the emotions of an even bigger audience and, from the looks of it, the Tata Nano will be an even bigger success story. Certainly a billion hearts swelling with pride helps, but it is also important that the "one lakh car" looks and drives like a dream. We don,t know yet about the driving part, but what was unveiled at the Delhi Auto Expo on Thursday was a production-ready prototype that takes the accepted way of building a mass-produced automobile. It uses a steel monocoque with built-in crashworthiness, and conventional sheet metal body parts. Mr Tata could have gone the route of using an extruded aluminium structure to ensure even more safety but then it would have cost much more. A frugal petrol engine mounted at the rear of the car has helped the engineers liberate a great deal of room inside the cabin. And, most importantly, everything is wrapped up in a beautiful package — there has been no compromise on either aesthetics or safety. All this at an investment cost of Rs 1,700 crore — which includes the development cost of the car as well as that of the upcoming plant at Singur in West Bengal.
Mr Tata has warned that inflation and the rising price of materials will mean the price tag going up in the future — but that should not be a worry in a country where 7-8 million two-wheelers are sold. A fraction of them converting to four wheels would ensure the success of the Tata Nano. But the car will have competition, as there are other car makers, some of them from the big league, who are toying with the idea of similar low-priced cars. Carlos Ghosn of Renault has already made the plunge and has asserted that such a project can only be done in India. Suddenly the needs of a developing market, like India, are getting priority with leading car makers. This is not very different from post-World War II Europe, which lapped up cost-effective transportation. Automotive legends such as the VW Beetle, the Citroen 2CV and the Fiat 500 were born out of the socio-economic conditions that forced car makers to reinvent the wheel. The Tata Nano, which features a rear engine format like that of the Beetle, has all the ingredients to join that list of illustrious automotive designs. The fact that it meets the necessary crashworthiness and emission norms of the day enhances its appeal. It might have started as a widely misquoted dream of one man — but Ratan Tata has ensured that he has turned it into an opportunity to take his firm to new heights.
Those who criticise the Tata small car are barking up the wrong tree and some of their arguments are elitist and discriminatory.
"India is in serious danger", warned the hugely popular New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman last November in one of his columns. The danger, he said, is from the $2,500-Tata small car which he believes is a highly retrograde initiative from a country capable of incredible innovation.
Why is Friedman so worried about a car that may never be seen on American roads? Because, he is very concerned about the well-being of us Indians! He is worried that we will make an even bigger mess of our road traffic and pollute our way to motoring bliss. He even asked Americans to urge Indians not to imitate the indulgent American way of life, but leapfrog and invent 'cheap-scale', sustainable solutions to big problems like public transport.
On the face of it, the column reads like yet another patronising sermon from a westerner baulking at the thought of third world masses enjoying cheap personal transport the way Americans do. But Friedman, a three times Pulitzer prize winner, is unlikely to harbour any prejudice against India and Indians.
After all, one of his biggest claims to fame is a true 'eureka moment' when it dawned on him that 'the world is flat' - while playing golf in Bangalore! The picture of Bangalore he paints in that book, with gleaming skyscrapers housing development centres for Microsoft, Sun and Oracle adorning his view from the golf course, would easily beat BJP's old 'India Shining' campaign.
Tom Friedman is not alone in deriding the Tata small car.
Ever since Ratan Tata announced his intention to build the cheapest car ever, there has been no let up from a variety of Tata baiters. Some competitors ridiculed the idea and questioned the company's ability to launch a car at such a low price. Green activists and 'concerned' souls, much before it caught Friedman's attention, have been warning us of the terrible fate that awaits us if the small car becomes a reality. Their objections range from vehicle safety to pollution and some of them sound plain elitist in their arguments.
The elite who pretend to be liberals
Last year, a columnist in a major Indian financial newspaper wondered how this country could allow a product like the Tata small car that would make our urban lives messier and all the more tedious. This is one of the biggest complaints against the Tata small car. But the question is, messier and tedious for whom? Obviously the urban rich, for the lives of the urban lower middle class and the poor cannot be made any messier! So, those who cannot afford more expensive cars must stick to their motorbikes so that the rich can continue to enjoy comfortable rides in thin traffic!
Another curious argument is that most of the potential buyers of the Tata car would have no parking space at their homes. So, it is said, they will all start parking their puny little cars by the roadside and clog traffic. A car manufacturer cannot be asked to sell to only those who have their own parking space. It is the potential buyers' problem to find a safe parking space. If they cannot find adequate parking space, or find parking to be very expensive, they will not take out their cars very often or will abstain from buying them in the worst case.
Given our 'highly developed civic sense' and 'ready willingness to obey the rules', it is likely that many of the new small car owners would conveniently park their vehicles where they should not. But, doesn't that happen even now with those who can afford expensive cars? It is the rich who flout traffic rules more blatantly and it is very likely that cars left at 'no parking' areas will be the most expensive ones because they know the traffic policeman will usually not dare to touch the 'sahib's gaadi'.
When that is the case, this argument smacks of blatant elitism. The less affluent cannot be denied the safety and comfort of a cheap four-wheeled vehicle, only because the existing infrastructure will come under further strain. Any move to restrict the number of cars should apply to all vehicles, irrespective of their cost. Even then, it should be ensured that the costs of such measures - like increased road taxes and parking charges - should be proportionate to the owners' ability to pay. Anything else will be discriminatory and simply unfair.
The safety bogey
Another potential fault critics have come up with is safety. "When you lower prices that drastically, how will you be able to meet safety standards?" - Anumita Roychoudhury of the Centre for Science and Environment (CES), one of the most-quoted critics of the Tata car, is reported to have asked. Does she really believe that there are no safety standards for vehicles in India? Even if they are inadequate, are we supposed to believe that a manufacturer from the House of Tatas, would risk its reputation and compromise on safety just to cut costs?
Even if the Tata small car is deemed less safe in terms of passenger injuries in the event of a collision, we need to remember that nobody in their right senses would enter such a car in a drag race! Neither will any sensible driver try to test the car's speed limit on our dangerous highways. Most potential buyers, ordinary middle class buyers, will drive the car to work or take their families for an outing on weekends.
Is the probability of high speed collisions on our city roads, where the average speed is in the range of 20 to 30 kmph, so high? In high-speed highway collisions, will the passengers in other small cars like the Maruti 800, Alto or even a Santro fare any better?
Furthermore, won't the Tata small car be far safer for lower middle class families who now use motorcycles and scooters with only the rider wearing a safety helmet in equally "dangerous" traffic conditions?
Roychoudhury has also argued that the Tata car has "not much chance" of retaining its price tag when safety features like airbags and anti-lock brakes are made standard in all vehicles. It is Ratan Tata who should worry about that, not his detractors. Oh! Shouldn't his critics be happier if the car becomes costlier and beyond the reach of its target customers!
The pollution bogey
R K Pachauri, with all the added gravitas from the Nobel Peace Prize, said the Tata small car is giving him "nightmares" - presumably implying the environmental impact of emissions from more cars on our streets. He is one of the biggest stars of the global warming campaigners, second only to Al Gore, and it is understandable that he gets nightmares. Just when he and his scientists and experts had convinced the sceptics that global warming was for real, here is a company from his own country, which he believes, is hell bent on worsening the problem!
Roychoudhury of CES is worried that "we have a time bomb ticking away" in terms of the environmental impact of hundreds of thousands of Tata small cars that will flood the streets in the coming years. Others are no less appalled or frightened. But, how real is the potential pollution problem posed by the Tata small car?
Ratan Tata has said that the car's emissions will be comparable to two-wheelers on a per passenger basis. That is assuming that the car will always have four passengers, which is unlikely. So, if the car replaces as many two-wheelers on our roads, total emissions will undoubtedly be higher.
But there is a potential upside, too. The Tata small car is said to be twice as fuel-efficient as other small cars. So, if some of the existing and potential owners of other small cars switch to the new car, the increase in overall fuel demand and emissions will be lower.
Again, it is not that millions of Tata small cars will be rolled out every year. Tata Motors' current capacity is 250,000 units per year, which is less than a quarter of the total cars produced in the country. In the long run, yes, the number of Tata small cars on our roads could be in millions. But, the number of other small car models sold over a period of as many years will also run into millions. Then, why single out the Tata car for criticism?
The Tata small car will definitely increase the pace of passenger car sales. But, the incremental addition to total car sales may not be as high as it is being made out to be. On balance, potential emissions are not the "nightmare" critics want us to believe.
The traffic chaos bogey
More cars on roads definitely mean more congestion. But, will the Tata small car make it that worse as some fear? It is estimated that there are over 12 million vehicles in India - four wheelers and above. Around a million are being added every year, and the additions will only increase. If Tata Motors sells as much as it can produce, we will see 250,000 cars being added every year. By the time the company reaches full capacity, at the earliest in 2009-10, total number of vehicles will be around 15 million. In percentage terms, the Tata small cars will constitute less than 2 per cent of total vehicles on our roads. Even if the company doubles its capacity, it will still be less than 4 per cent. Is that a big problem?
Our roads are congested in urban areas, not so much in semi-urban and rural areas. It is likely that a substantial number of Tata small cars will be sold in areas where the road traffic is not that bad. So, should the village aam aadmi also be denied a cheap personal vehicle?
Even if the Tata small cars create utter traffic chaos in our cities, it may be a blessing in disguise. The transport infrastructure in our cities is pathetic probably because our netas never have to suffer traffic blocks. The big shots, who take all the decisions, have police vehicles clearing the way for them.
The lesser minions, who lobby to influence the decisions, are usually chauffeured around and hence commuting is less tedious for them. So, to take a highly charitable view on our netas, it is possible that they are really not aware of the problems. When we protest loudly, they will agree to 'look into the matter', without really grasping the enormity of the problem and hence cannot be blamed for forgetting the promise.
But, they will grasp the problem better and will be forced to 'look into it' if their cars cannot move. For them to roll down their windows and see reality, the traffic should become so bad that even police vehicles cannot clear the way. Then they will do something about our roads or let the private sector do it.
I am all for mass transport systems - metro rail systems, high capacity buses on dedicated lanes and so on - for our cities. Many commuters would prefer public transport to driving their own cars, provided they are safe, comfortable and reliable. There is no doubt that, in the not too distant future, a majority of city dwellers will switch to public transport from cars. Because it will be impossible to take out the cars daily and our public transport systems would have improved beyond recognition by then.
But, that will be a gradual transition. All we can do is to exert pressure to speed up the process, and that is what all the activists railing against the Tata small car should be doing. Until we have better public transport, commuters would prefer personal transport - if they can afford it - and there will be huge demand for personal vehicles. You cannot fault a business for trying to meet market demand, in a supposedly liberalised economy. If the Tatas had not done it, somebody else would have. Bajaj already has a prototype ready!
All those who are arguing against the Tata small car are barking up the wrong tree!
For the world's cheapest car, it was one luxury arrival.
More than 1,000 people — journalists, VIPs and industrialists — packed an auditorium on Thursday as Tata Motors Ltd unveiled its long-awaited "People's Car" in a media circus more worthy of a pop concert or an Oscar ceremony.
For those wanting to feel India's economic self-confidence as it takes on the world, all they had to do was to experience the blaring music from "2001: A Space Odyssey" and the flashes of scores of cameras as the Tata Nano was driven out.
It condensed years of anticipation into one moment of mayhem.
"I haven't seen this many cameras in my six years in South Asia," said one veteran journalist. "You couldn't even buy advertising like this."
Ahead of the launch, major news channels devoted several minutes of airtime to live footage of a dark and empty stage where the car, a hatchback that is priced at about half the cost of the current cheapest car, would be unveiled.
"A promise is a promise," Chairman Ratan Tata said, as he announced a dealer price of 100,000 rupees ($2,500) as pledged five years ago, even though commodity prices have gone up and despite rivals' claims such a knock-down price was impossible.
For its supporters, it will revolutionise ownership in India, by allowing millions of the aspiring middle classes to own a car, and send a shock through the auto world with its cheaper engineering that will be copied across the globe.
As Tata reeled off the car's specifications and compared it to innovations such as the first man on the moon, people in the crowd, including many Indian journalists, clapped and cheered.
A hologram appeared of a husband, his wife and kid balanced unsafely on a scooter — a common sight in India. It faded to make way for an image of the Nano hovering above the stage.
Then came the rush as hundreds of journalists pressed around the car. A ring of Tata guards surrounded the Nano, begging cameramen not to scratch its new paint.
Then came the public. "It looks kind of cute," said Urvashi Sitani, a businesswoman who took pictures with her mobile phone. "I'd guess it proves popular with the younger crowd. But it's a girlish car. I can't imagine a man would be seen in a car like this."
Tata Motors Small Car plant at Singur (West Bengal) today crossed yet another milestone with the issuance of appointment letters to 17 youth from Singur villages. They received their appointment letters in the plant premises.
This first batch consists of the 17 Industrial Training Institute (ITI)-educated youth, who had been selected for a 6-month training at Tata Motors Jamshedpur plant since March 2007. At the end of the training, they took practical and theoretical tests and interviews, following which they were found to be suitable for employment at the plant.
They have been trained in Basic Fitting, Welding, MMV (Mechanic Motor Vehicle), Machine Shop, CNC (Computerised Numerically Controlled) Machines, Electrical, Electronics and Tool & Die Making. Their skill upgradation will continue at the Jamshedpur plant and subsequently at Singur.
302 others under training
Like this first batch, another group of 302 individuals, all from Singur villages, are now undergoing either a 6-month or a 9-month training programme since May 2007, at the ITI Howrah Homes, ITI Hooghly, ATI Dasnagar and the Ramakrishna Shilpa Mandir,
Howrah. After completing their respective programme, they will undertake a trade test to be conducted by the West Bengal Government's Department of Technical Education & Training (DTET). The successful candidates will then undergo 15 months' hands-on training at Tata Motors facilities to make them multi-skilled. On successful completion of this 15-month programme, the trainees will take the trade tests to qualify for trade certificates issued by the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) and will become eligible for employment at the Singur plant and vendor facilities.
Another 101 to start training
Yet another batch of 101 youth, also from Singur villages, is now being inducted for a 9-month training course. They will be trained at different ITIs. Like the current batch of 302 trainees, on completion of the training programme, these 101 youth too will appear for a trade test. The successful candidates will then undergo 15-month training at Tata Motors facilities. On successful completion of this 15-month programme, these trainees too will take the trade tests to qualify for trade certificates issued by the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) and will become eligible for employment at the Singur plant and vendor facilities.
This initiative is part of Tata Motors' comprehensive community development programme for Singur, in line with the company's practices in other locations. The programme includes: a) training, according to an individual's educational qualifications and skill, to improve their employability; b) training women for employability - through facilitation of cooperative societies - to produce a diverse range of items, which could be used in the Tata Motors plant or the vendor plants; and c) social development in the Singur area, through community centres, and support for primary health, primary/secondary education and adult education.
Extracts from international publications published in Hindustan Times on 12th January, 2008 - The Washington Post
For millions of people in the developing world, Tata Motors' new $2,500 four-door subcompact - the world's cheapest car may yield a transportation revolution as big as Henry Ford's Model T. The company will, however, not say how the price was kept so low on the basic version and won't say how much the luxury Nano will cost until it hits showrooms toward the end of this year. The company also refused to let reporters sit in the car, let alone drive it.
A snub-nosed wonder
Extracts from international publications published in Hindustan Times on 12th January, 2008 - The Sydney Morning Herald
INDIA'S TATA Group unveiled on Thursday the world's cheapest car costing $2,predictions the no-frills vehicle could revolutionise how millions in India and elsewhere travel. The four-door: five-seat sportylooking can which defied prelaunch predictions that it would be little more than a "motorised bullock cart on wheels", is due to hit the roads later this year at just Rs 100,000, excluding tax, after the Tata Group cut costs to the bone. The Nano has a two-cylinder 623 cc, rear-mounted engine with a top speed of 105 kms an hour The theme from Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey played as Tata unveiled the snub-nosed Nano -- so called to appear both high-tech and small - to cheers and applause at the annual Delhi car show.
Another Indian icon
Extracts from international publications published in Hindustan Times on 12th January, 2008 -The New York Times
For MILLIONS of people in the developing world, Tata Motors' new $2,500 four-door subcompact may yield a transportation revolution as big as Henry Ford's Model T. The potential impact of Tata's Nano has given environmentalists nightmares, with visions of the tiny cars clogging India's already-choked roads and collectively spewing millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the air Industry analysts, however, say the car may soon deliver to India and the rest of the developing world unprecedented mobility "It is a potentially gigantic development if it delivers what has been promised," said John Casesa, managing partner for the Casesa Shapiro Group, a New York-based auto industry financial advisory firm.
Another The no-frill smart car
Extracts from international publications published in Hindustan Times on 12th January, 2008 - The Guardian
It HAS no radio, no boot, no airbag, no passenger-side mirror and just one long windscreen wiper. And if you want air-conditioning to deal with India's summer heat you'll have to buy the deluxe version. India's Tata Group on Thursday pulled the covers off the world's cheapest car, the Nano, which goes on sale later this year with a price tag of Rs 100,000 £1,260 - to bring motoring to the country's billion-strong masses.
For 70-year-old Ratan Tata, the group's chairman, the launch of the Nano is a landmark in transport comparable to the first powered flight by the Wright brothers, or the first moonshot. Like a modern-day version of Henry Ford, Tata's idea of an affordable car that is light and simple, yet made from high-quality materials. The result is a jelly bean shaped vehicle into which five adults can squeeze. The basic model makes no concession to luxury: its price has been kept low by using more plastic than steel, and swapping hi-tech glue for traditional welding. Rival manufacturers had questioned whether the car would meet safety standards, especially if the company plans to export such models to Europe.
Tata have been very smart and have studied the market very carefully, said Abdul Majeed, of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Like Ford's Model T, which drove the American motor boom in the early 20th century, Tata will give the Indian consumer a tough, easy to drive, cheap to maintain and, most of all, affordable car.
Tata's Nano defies expectations
Extracts from international publications published in Hindustan Times on 12th January, 2008 - The Times
It IS 3 metres long, seats four comfortably or five at a squeeze, does 65mph and aims to revolutionise travel for millions. The "People's Car" is also the cheapest in the world at Rs 100,000 rupees (£1,300) - the same price as the DVD player in a Lexus. The car is the culmination of five years' research and input from across the world, including Italy and Germany. But it was designed and made in India, defying expectations that a company best known for its elephantine lorries could manufacture a cutting-edge passenger product.
Environment worry of evolution?
Extracts from international publications published in Hindustan Times on 12th January, 2008 - The Independent
IT'S EITHER the start of a people’s evolution of the trigger for social and environmental headaches across the globe. The Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car, was unveiled with great fan fare in the Indian capital on Thursday amid bright lights and blaring music. Designed to put a stop to a family of four travelling on a scooter, the new model from Tata Motors – and more importantly its price tag of ?1,277 – should make motoring affordable for a new class of consumer in the developing world. But green activists predict trouble ahead for countries that already have inadequate infrastructures and CO2 emissions. Tony Bosworth, from Friends of the Earth UK, said “The Tata Nano makes motoring cheaper and growing car sales in India will lead to big rises in carbon dioxide emissions. This is another blow to efforts to tackle global climate change. But per-person emissions will still be much higher in the West. Our priority must be to increase efforts to cut our own emissions and to show the rest of the world how to develop a low-carbon economy Though Tata talked of helping solve the transportation needs of rural Indians with his now car, it seems his vehicle is targeted at the country's newly aspirational middle class.
One could be pardoned for thinking that the hype surrounding the world's most cost-focussed mass produced car was all a media creation. Given not the column inches but literally double and triple page spreads in most national publications of relevance the Tata Nano was burdened with a great deal of expectation, both from within the company and outside.
The objective of delivering a four-wheeled all-metal car with performance, safety and comfort also had to keep an eye not just on the customer price point framed in 1000-point letters on the engineers walls in the ERC but also the fact that the project has to make money as well. Clearly philanthrophy was not even considered by the team led by Girish Wagh to translate his chairman's vision of providing automobility hitherto unavailable to a great strata of Indians.
Many completely rebuked the concept as not just audacious but totally harebrained when it was first espoused. This is an even more incredulous lot today, changing its line of detraction and seeking to know how and where the cost savings were made to arrive at the price Ratan Tata promised years ago. And it looks all set to deliver from the third quarter of this year.
Clever design, intelligent solutions with simplicity thrown in to achieve the functional aspects, weight reduction by way of ample digital analysis and a strict adherence to cost were some of the means employed to get the project so clearly defined through each and every stage of the design and development process.
Wagh's team underpinned its efforts by zeroing in on three vital parameters: it had to be a low cost focused automobile. Secondly it had to be designed and developed to meet all statutory safety and emission legislation while also being package protected to meet additional safety and other legislation issues which changing homologation requirements could throw at it. And finally the car had to have acceptable performance.
Clearly the project was much too daunting to have even precluded the normally focused Japanese small car giants to cry off. It also eliminated the Chinese for this was an all-new out-of-the-box concept which hadn't been made before and therefore couldn't be copied. The Europeans were scared after the painful exercise with the Smart which lost out on the grounds of complexity and price all that it tried to gain by having a very small footprint on the road. This fact was not lost on the Tata design and engineering teams and so began the arduous process of not just lateral thinking but also involving almost everyone within the company to think collectively.
Yes collective thinking came to the fore given the project's attraction. The challenge was also the attraction, engulfing everyone from the man at the helm of affairs to the shop floor operator who could - and were empowered to - bring in their own knowledge and experience to bear on various aspects of the design and engineering, the latter focusing on both the product as well as the manufacturing processes. This collective thought process was perhaps the biggest money saver and the largest repository of common sense brought to bear on a car everyone wanted to play a role in creating.
Good design was the critical element behind making effective savings in material usage, reducing mass and weight, getting the weight distribution spot-on for both ride and handling plus also stability and safety. Good design also made the engineers opt for the rear engine placement, in the process gaining both large occupant space and also major cost savings. First off lets factor in the design vis--vis the monocoque chassis. Absolute structural stiffness analysis was done concurrently with the stylists at the I.De.A. Institute in Italy who penned the look of the car.
NVH characteristics were as important to tackle at this stage as was the torsionsal strength of the structure. Using very lean but intelligent design, the team did enough to achieve its objective of a robust build for the application intended while yet not falling prey to the downward spiral of either over-designing or over-engineering. I think this is an abject lesson of great value engineering over both under - as well as over-engineering a concept.
Given the rear engineered layout, the engineers were able to move the firewall well forward and this proved advantageous in terms of not just reduced weight but also enhancing the cabin footwell area. A great deal of digital validation occurred at every stage of the design and build process, ensuring that corrective measures if needed, could be taken quickly in the normal process. Two clear instances of low weight and low material requirements come to mind straightaway: the ribbed (or swaged) roof structure is not just a style element but also a strength structure by design using sheet metal of a thinner gauge. A second design detail which delivered cost and weight reduction along with the adoption of a cheaper manufacturing process was in the use of the rear glass windscreen bonded to the tailgate. This helped in maintaining the structural rigidity while cutting down on the weight and also in the stamping and blanking processes.
The adoption of good design and packaging of the mechanical aggregates brought in great savings. The compact manner in which the engine is configured with a transverse twin-cylinder layout placed ahead of the rear axle line with the four-speed transaxle immediately behind it aided mightily in weight distribution plus also deriving a low centre of gravity. The battery being placed under the driver's seat helped spread the weight optimally while the radiator placed at the rear on the right hand side, ensured good placement of the ancillaries from an ease of operation point of view.
The rear-engined layout also helped save costs and complexity given that the driveshafts didn't need complex joints as in a front engined, front-wheel drive car wherein these shafts also needed to swivel with the steering. GKN came up with a great set of driveshafts which are robust yet light and pretty efficient to handle the power and torque. Speaking of engine performance, the 623.6cc engine makes 33bhp at 5000rpm coupled to a lusty 48 Nm of torque at 2500rpm. In fact the commuter nature of the car is best shown on the torque front with the low engine speed peak torque is produced, staying in a linear line all the way to the upper ends of the rev range.
Driveability isn't compromised while effecting major gains in fuel efficiency. Bosch played a major role in the development of the multi-point fuelling system and also the electronic management system enabling consistent and precise fuel delivery with optimized spark control, resulting in the frugal consumption of the 623.6cc engine.
Another element of good design and engineering concerned the 623.6cc engine displacement. Earlier a 580cc engine was designed but Ratan Tata himself found this inadequate in driveability and fuel efficiency. Bumping up the displacement helped the volumetric efficiency and with good thermodynamics, achieved the engine performance characteristics to haul four adults easily in the cut and thrust of our daily commute.
Another area where critical weight was saved, both physically and also dynamically concerned the adoption of the tubeless tyres made by MRF who are the single source tyre supplier's for the Nano. Given the lack of a tube in each wheel, a total of two kilogrammes were saved from the tyres alone, the lack of mass manifesting itself in low unsprung weight and resultant benefits in dynamic ability.
The use of just the right amount of plastics for the given surface area they covered in the cabin plus the architecture of the seats with optimised cushioning are details which might not seem very glamourous but they did aid the packaging engineers in their battle to balance costs, comfort and complexity. Bare basic instrumentation for this class of car comes across as more than adequate.
Finally, the complete project cost for the Nano, from design, development and production engineering a facility to make 250,000 units per annum are pegged at Rs 1700 crores - exactly the same amount the company spent a decade ago to kick start the Indica project. If that isn't good value engineering, pray tell us what is, for a car that you can buy for the price of top notch TAG Heuer sports watch? Need of the hour or a sign of the times? Or maybe both - the clock is now ticking for all the others to try and get their Nano clones ready.
It was an unlikely venue for the launch of a revolution. The gleaming lights, the massive stage, the smell of freshly minted cars, leggy lasses, popping flashbulbs, video cameras, cables feeding television channels across the world… the stage seemed set for a rock concert.
As Ratan Tata stepped onscreen via a 3-D hologram in a virtual cameo to narrate the journey of man’s romance with mobility, he looked every bit the rock star, even if in formals. A minute later, when Tata, in real flesh and blood, drove on to the stage to a standing ovation, it was clear that Indian innovation had shifted to a higher orbit on January 10. The 624cc four-seater Tata Nano promises to herald a revolution that will change the way India moves.
Priced at $2,500 or Rs 1 lakh at the dealer end, the car is the cheapest fourwheeler in the world. The next cheapest car would be the Chinese QQ3, which costs $5,000 (Rs 2 lakh). Indexed for consumer price inflation, the Nano is less than half the price of the 1983 Maruti 800, which was Rs 48,000.
A quick, back-of-the-envelope indexation for inflation shows that if the Maruti 800 had been launched today, it would have been priced at Rs 2,67,000. Consider the arithmetic of the proposition. At a rate of interest of around 12 per cent, the EMI or equated monthly instalment for the Nano could range between Rs 2,200 per month for a five-year loan and a little over Rs 3,200 for a three-year loan.
At over 20 km per litre of petrol, the car would have an operating cost of Rs 2.5 per km, which is well worth the safety of travelling on four wheels and the pride of personal mobility.
And you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the potential. Growing at 9 per cent, India’s GDP is over a trillion dollars (Rs 40 lakh crore), delivering an average per capita income of $1,000 (Rs 40,000). The launch of the Nano is timed to perfection. Consider the synchronisation with the emergence of India as a manufacturing centre that helped them cut costs, along with a highgrowth market with a scaleable potential.
One doesn’t have to rely solely on the market share occupied by Maruti. Currently, 80 lakh two-wheelers, 13 lakh cars and 6 lakh three-wheelers are sold in India every year. Add 5 lakh used car sales. Hypothetically, each of these buyers is a potential customer. At the price the Nano is being offered, there could be a new set of users—for instance, fuel-guzzling old taxis or unstable three-wheel rickshaws.
This proposition that prompted Tata to think about a people’s car: Typically, the trigger was a social concern. On a wet August night in 2003 Mumbai, when Tata was driving back home from his office Bombay House in Flora Fountain, he saw a young couple travelling with their two children on a two-wheeler and was struck by the enormous risks of riding on a wet road.
The thought of a small car germinated in his mind and a week later, on a visit to the Tata Motors plant in Pune, he shared his thoughts with MD Ravi Kant. Instinctively, his first query was whether the two-wheeled scooter could be made safe. “The first doodles,” in Tata’s words, “were sketches of a two-wheeler with a bar around it and some weather-proofing.”
Thereafter, a core team of 500 (including those in charge of setting up the plant) worked on the concept for four years. Indeed the first thoughts centered on a door-less four-seater that was more a quadricycle than a car.
The design envisaged the use of plastic weather-proofing of the kind seen in rickshaws and contemplated using new materials. But somewhere down the line, the ideas ran into a conflict with Tata’s brief. It was simple: it would seat four, have a low operating cost and meet all safety and emission standards. The team dumped the nascent design and focused on the process of building what would be a car differently.
As they worked on Project X, affectionately referred to as “chhota baba”, the market environment changed considerably. Product design and innovation cannot happen in a vacuum. It is not just the risk of competitors breaking the queue, there is also the changing cost structure.
For instance, in the last five years, crude prices have shot up—from $20 (Rs 800) per barrel to $100 (Rs 4,000)—and so has the cost of steel. With rising fuel and material costs, the need for a light, fuel-efficient car couldn’t be over emphasised. Being green was no longer just fashionable cultural liberalism, but made sound economic sense too.
All along, the competition, including Japanese and Korean giants, ostensibly masters of efficient design and innovative pricing, scoffed at the very proposition of a car that cost a lakh of rupees. Can’t be done, they said. Osama Suzuki, president, Suzuki Motors, jokingly speculated that “it would be a three-wheeler or a stepney”.
Tata, who wears his Indian identity as proudly and prominently as the Titan watch on his wrist, was confident that his team could make it possible. “Barriers to innovation,” he said, “were usually in the mind.”
He believed that there was room at the base price and with the skills of Indians, known for engineering cost-effective solutions, it could be done.
Maruti, which has 210 vendors and over 1,000 sub-vendors, is said to build the 800 at around Rs 1,10,000. So on the face of it, a smaller engine, a lighter build and reengineering could deliver a cheaper car for the Tatas.
When Tata invited his core team led by Kant and Girish Wagh on stage at the launch, it was as much a salute to Indian skills as it was a riposte to those who had said it couldn’t be done.
The Nano could not just change the way India will move, but also move the world to change the way it views Indian capabilities.
The car is not revolutionary in its looks or in the materials used. As far as the looks are concerned, it leans towards the Benz’s Smart, but the similarity ends there. The Nano is very, very Indian. What is revolutionary is the thinking, the philosophy behind the design. It has all been done before, but the elegance of the packaging makes it such a big draw.
The architecture—for instance, the placement of the engine below the rear seat—delivers cost and operational efficiency. As Tata points out, “The rear passenger seat is on the engine, so you save space; the engine is driving the wheels directly so you save engineering for the drive; you save the space in the bonnet and construction helps keep the costs down but yet meets safety standards.”
The result is dramatic in terms of utility and costs. The location of the engine also enabled the designers to give the car a rakish face that is bound to attract the youth as much as the running cost will.
Along the way, the vendors, which include Bosch for powering the car, Lumax for lights, Sona for steering, Shriram and Ricoh, were coaxed, corralled and challenged by Kant to cut costs.
As he told a vendor at a meeting at the company’s technical centre, “If this car clicks, it will be as much your success as ours.”
The vendors took up the challenge and reengineered their own products and thereby brought down costs by 15 per cent—and in some cases, even more. Indeed, Tata quipped that now when he asks his team if a certain element could be altered, “they say that would be so many rupees more and silence me”.
Indeed the Nano—which means small in Parsi-Gujarati—turns out to be a font of innovation, generating as many as 40 new patents for Tata Motors.
It wasn’t all smooth-sailing; there were hiccups. For instance, they had originally planned to launch a continuously variable transmission system on the lines of gearless scooters, but Tata was not satisfied and they opted for a conventional gear kit drawn from the home grown Ace.
NEW DELHI: For aspiring engineers and entrepreneurs, it will be more than a means of cheap transport. In fact, if Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata has his way, it could even earn them their livelihood.
In the coming years, Tata has a plan to invite entrepreneurs to assemble the small car across the country, just like his vehicles are assembled overseas. For a small investment to set up these plants, these entrepreneurs will be supplied the vital components like engine, power train and chassis. The assembly plants would just put the car together at their works.
Similarly, Tata also plans to recruit local service engineers who will be provided with basic amenities like a cellphone, tools and training. They will then be given a few customers in their vicinity, so that these customers can directly contact this person to look after the car.
Says Tata: "I believe this is a way of distributing our wealth to the larger society."
Though the plans are still at a nascent stage, the design of the car has already incorporated elements that would make assembly and easy servicing possible. For example, Tata Motors and Bosch have dumbed down the electronics for fuel injection inside the engine quite a bit to make it easily serviceable. The car has fewer welded parts, again to ensure that entrepreneurs will not need to invest in expensive high tech machinery to put the parts together.
Industry expert are divided if such a scheme is simple to work out. Car assembly needs high degree of expertise and quality control. And going by the few available examples, it could also be a capital intensive process as the entrepreneur would have to buy car kits before he assembles them.
Tata Motors officials were not willing to talk about the plans for the project yet. Says an executive: "It will be a while before the idea is implemented but after we saw the expertise of our vendors in designing components for the car, we are confident that there will be others who will capable of putting the car together."
There is a buzz that there are a few international companies who have approached the Tata group to assemble their cars in India. Austria-based Magna Steyr known for its expertise in contract manufacturing is said to be talking to Tatas for this project.
When Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group, stepped out of the Nano at the Auto Expo in Delhi, automobile design experts admiringly noted his smooth exit from the roomy, high-seating family car.
The Rs 1 lakh car has stunned the world for rolling out as a stylish showstopper with no outward signs of a cheap, budget vehicle.
"Hats off!" was the spontaneous reaction from automobile designer Dilip Chhabria, chairman and MD of Mumbai-based DC Design who was 'surprised' at the car's style statement despite the cost challenge.
"They will rewrite the rules of the game for all car makers to emulate, not just in India," emphasised Chhabria. "This will have ramifications on the way cars are designed globally." The Nano design is original, radical and very futuristic, said Chhabria, adding that he was struck by its side profile.
At the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, professor Kishor Munshi gave the design a thumbs up too, as he watched the launch on television. "It's fantastic!" said Munshi, an automobile design expert at the IIT's Industrial Design Centre. "Cost was the biggest challenge in designing this car, and Indian designers and engineers have proven they were up to it. They've beaten every carmaker in the world hollow."
The mono-volume design and body shape is contemporary and 'excellent' given the car's size, said Munshi.
Tata Motors said in a media release that the lean design strategy has helped minimise the car's weight and maximise fuel efficiency and performance. "The wheels at the corners and power train at the rear combine space and maneuverability, to set a new benchmark among small cars," said a media statement.
"The proof of the pudding will be in driving it, but visually it looks pretty good," said London-based auto analyst Ashvin Chotai, who was at Thursday's unveiling. "The pricing was a bit of a surprise. I thought it would be a bit higher."
Tata said costs were kept low by cutting the "size of the package".
Ending a four-year wait and bringing the dream of car ownership closer to millions, Tata Motors today unveiled the "People's Car" at a show here watched by the international automobile industry. Called Nano, the car will cost Rs 1 lakh as promised by the company which also assured meeting all safety and emission norms.
"Since we started the project four years back, there has been a steep increase in input cost but a promise is a promise," said Tata Group chief Ratan Tata after displaying his dream project at the Ninth Auto Expo.
"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 said.
"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 yet built to meet safety requirements and emission norms, to be fuel efficient and low on emissions. We hope it brings the joy, pride and utility of owning a car to many families who need personal mobility." This small car — Nano is 20 per cent shorter in length than the Maruti 800 but Tata claims it has 21 per cent more space — is powered by a 623 cc rear-mounted engine and will travel 20 km per litre. The car will cost Rs 1 lakh at the dealer-end but attract Value-Added Tax and transportation cost.
Apart from the standard version, Nano will also come in two deluxe models with air conditioning. While critics had been sceptical about the car meeting safety and emission norms, Tata said Nano will meet Bharat Stage-III emission norms and can also meet the stringent Euro 4 norms. The car has also gone through a full frontal crash test as per standard norms, he said.
Tata Motors expects two-wheeler riders to buy the car that costs half as much as those currently in the market. With just 8 people in 1,000 owning a car in India, there is huge potential to upgrade bike and scooter owners who bought about 7 million two-wheelers in 2006-07.
Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said Nano will help the common man shift from two-wheelers to four-wheelers. "It is a proud moment for India. It demonstrates India's technological and entrepreneurial ability. The car will help people move from two-wheeler to four-wheeler and it will leap-frog the two-wheeler. It fulfils the need of the common Indian who aspires to move from a two-wheeler to a four-wheeler," he said.
Tata also allayed fears expressed by environmentalist R K Pachauri and green activist Sunita Narain that a car at that price would add more vehicles, leading to higher pollution. "Pachauri will not have a nightmare and Sunita Narain can also sleep," he said.
On the reasons for choosing the name Nano, Tata said the car was about high technology and small size. He credited the development of Nano to Tata Motors' engineers, and said it was the capability and commitment to innovate that realised the dream. In fact, Tata Motors has applied for 34 patents for aggregate features, such as the two cylinder gasoline with single balancer shaft.
Asked if the company was looking to export the car as well, Tata said: "The first two-three years our focus will be India and see the Indian market appropriately addressed." He did not, however, rule out an overseas launch of the car.
Tata revealed what enabled it to cut down costs and score over the entire global auto industry. "We took the standard Maruti 800 as the base model and worked backwards on how we can reduce costs. We decided and found out that a tight package, that will mean a smaller, meaner car, lighter engine and higher fuel economy will do the trick," Tata said. "The decision to make it a rear engine driven was precisely to reduce the length of the car."
But why did other car makers miss the trick? "I cannot say for others but what is important is whether you have desire strong enough to prevent the odds from overwhelming you," Tata said.
At the site of the plant in Singur, West Bengal, where the first Nano will roll out, it is a race against time. Over 2500 people have been working in two shifts behind a guarded perimeter to complete the factory in time. Soon another shift will be introduced to make up for any backlog in work caused during the last heavy monsoon.
"Work will soon start in three shifts. Over 75 per cent work of the factory is complete and we hope by September of this year the first car will roll out of the factory,"' a top official of West Bengal Industrial Development Corp (WBIDC) told The Indian Express. A major portion of the work involving the setting up of a 230 KV substation on the project site to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the factory and the vendor park has almost been completed by ABB.
In order to save the site from inundation in the future, the state government has revived the 30-year-old Ghiya Kulti irrigation project at a cost of Rs 170 crore.
Next to the 645-acre plot that will have the main car plant, a vendor park is coming up on 290 acres to house the proposed 55 ancillary units. Already, 14 have started setting up theirs. These include Lord Swaraj Paul-owned Caparo Engineering Pvt Ltd, Rasandik Engineering Industries Indian Ltd, Rucha Engineers Pvt Ltd and Sharda Motor Industries Ltd. While Rasandik has plans of investing Rs 55 crore in the first phase of work at the vendor site, Rucha Engineering has committed Rs 50 crore for their facility at the vendor park.
WBIDC has set up a camp office at the project site where so far 2432 persons from displaced families have got their names registered. "The Government, with the help of Tata Motors, will arrange for employment opportunities for them through training and financial assistance," said Samir Rudra, the office-in-charge.
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