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.

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