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.

... contd.