The Nano, valued at $2,000, is expected to change the country’s auto market by providing car ownership to millions of families that have only owned two-wheelers.
“We hope that on a day like this we will usher in a new form of transport,” said Ratan Tata, the chairman of Tata Group, during the launch. “It was never conceived of as being the cheapest car. It was conceived of as being a car that would give the people an opportunity to own a car that had not been within their reach before,” he said.
There will be three versions of the unit, including a base version which comes without air-conditioning, power brakes and power windows. It’s available at $2,000 for the initial 100,000 deliveries.
The 624cc-engine car is said to be ‘small on the outside but big on the inside,’ with room for four adults to sit comfortably. The car is hailed as a solution to crowded Indian roads.