Tata presents Nano's version for Minibus, the Magic Iris

If the VW Beetle has managed to have its own van, the VW Minibus, why would not the future people's car, Tata Nano, come up with the same variety of bodies? This is what Tata intends to do with the new Magic Iris, a microvan built over Nano's platform in order to take rickshaws out of Indian streets.



Powered by a rear 611 cm³ diesel engine able to produce little more than 11 bhp, Magic Iris has a top speed of 55 km/h and carries five people (including the driver), what makes it a faster and safer option of public transport compared to rickshaws. If prices are as low as the ones charged for a Nano, soon there will be no more three-wheeled vehicles carrying people in India. Nor in other emerging countries of the world.

Source: Tata

Tata Nano achieves 203,000 confirmed bookings; 610,000 bought forms

After a great deal of speculation, Tata has released what has happened to the booking process of Nano. Over 203,000 clients have fully paid for the privilege to be the first 100,000 to own a Nano, while 610,000 have bought the booking forms.



Of all the bookings, 70% of them were financed. Differently from what was expected, Standard had the preferences of only 20% of the clients. The intermediary version, CX, reached 30% of all reserves and LX, the top of the line, was responsible for 50% of all booked Nano units.

Deliveries will start after the computerised random selection is performed, in June 25, and will go on until the end of 2010, when the Sanand factory is ready.

Nano will have three versions in India: Standard, CX and LX. Standard, as the name states, will be the entry-level version. It will cost, in Pant Nagar, 112,735 rupees, or US$ 2,232.38, or a little above 1 lakh, or 100,000 rupees, or US$ 1,980.20, as promised. According to Tata, the car will cost 1 lakh when it leaves the factory, what, in our opinion, is not of much help for the final consumer. Anyway, Nano is still very cheap. For this vehicle, reservation price is 95,000 rupees, or US$ 1,881.19.

The Nano Standard offers three colour options, one-tone seats and a foldable rear seat. By the way, all Nano units are 3.1 m long, 1.5 m wide and 1.6 m tall, with a 624 cm³ rear two-cylinder engine mated to a four speed gearbox. The engine generates 35 bhp at 5,250 rpm and 48 Nm at 3,000 rpm, what helps the 600 kg car reach a top speed of 105 km/h and emit only 101 g/km, with a fuel consumption of 23.6 km/l. With its 15 l fuel tank, Nano has a mileage of 354 km.

Nano has no disk brakes, only drums in all four wheels. Considering the car's weigh and top speed, this should be no problem in city traffic, but may cause overheating in highways. This may be a reason for Nano's short warranty period: only 18 months or 24,000 km, whatever comes first.

The intermediary version of Nano, CX, offers five colour options, parcel shelf, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC), two-tone seats, a foldable rear seat with nap rest and, surprise, booster-assisted brakes. In other words, anyone missing ABS shoud try to stop a Standard Nano without getting tired very quickly. CX prices go from 139,780 rupees, or US$ 2,767.92, to 160,320 rupees, or US$ 3,174.65. Its reserve price is 120,000 rupees, or US$ 2,376.24.

The top Nano, called LX, offers everything CX does plus fabric seats, central locking, front power windows, body coloured exteriors in three premium colours, probably mettalic ones, fog lamps, electronic trip meter, cup holder in the front console, mobile charger point and a rear spoiler. Prices for LX range from 170,335 rupees to 185,375 rupees, or US$ 3,372.97 to US$ 3,670.79. Its reserve price has been established at 140,000 rupees, or US$ 2,772.28.




Source: Tata

Tata will start taking reserves for Nano on April 9

Most people's cars have taken a long time to be presented, perhaps a compensation for their long lives in the market. The VW Beetle and Citroën 2CV are two good examples of it. A recent one has been Tata Nano, which was officially presented on January 2008 and will only start being sold by April. First deliveries will only take place in July, not before a very complicated process of reserves takes place.



Since the plant that will be dedicated to Nano's production, in Sanand, in the Indian State of Gujarat, will only be ready in 2010, production will not meet the high demand expected for the cheapest car of the world. This is why the company has decided to create a reservation system, or else: anyone interested in being one of the first owners of Nano will have to pay for that privilege.

Nano will have three versions in India: Standard, CX and LX. Standard, as the name states, will be the entry-level version. It will cost, in Pant Nagar, 112,735 rupees, or US$ 2,232.38, or a little above 1 lakh, or 100,000 rupees, or US$ 1,980.20, as promised. According to Tata, the car will cost 1 lakh when it leaves the factory, what, in our opinion, is not of much help for the final consumer. Anyway, Nano is still very cheap. For this vehicle, reservation price is 95,000 rupees, or US$ 1,881.19.

The Nano Standard offers three colour options, one-tone seats and a foldable rear seat. By the way, all Nano units are 3.1 m long, 1.5 m wide and 1.6 m tall, with a 624 cm³ rear two-cylinder engine mated to a four speed gearbox. The engine generates 35 bhp at 5,250 rpm and 48 Nm at 3,000 rpm, what helps the 600 kg car reach a top speed of 105 km/h and emit only 101 g/km, with a fuel consumption of 23.6 km/l. With its 15 l fuel tank, Nano has a mileage of 354 km.

Nano has no disk brakes, only drums in all four wheels. Considering the car's weigh and top speed, this should be no problem in city traffic, but may cause overheating in highways. This may be a reason for Nano's short warranty period: only 18 months or 24,000 km, whatever comes first.

The intermediary version of Nano, CX, offers five colour options, parcel shelf, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC), two-tone seats, a foldable rear seat with nap rest and, surprise, booster-assisted brakes. In other words, anyone missing ABS shoud try to stop a Standard Nano without getting tired very quickly. CX prices go from 139,780 rupees, or US$ 2,767.92, to 160,320 rupees, or US$ 3,174.65. Its reserve price is 120,000 rupees, or US$ 2,376.24.

The top Nano, called LX, offers everything CX does plus fabric seats, central locking, front power windows, body coloured exteriors in three premium colours, probably mettalic ones, fog lamps, electronic trip meter, cup holder in the front console, mobile charger point and a rear spoiler. Prices for LX range from 170,335 rupees to 185,375 rupees, or US$ 3,372.97 to US$ 3,670.79. Its reserve price has been established at 140,000 rupees, or US$ 2,772.28.

The reservation system will start in April 9 and will go until April 25. It will Work with the help of the State Bank of India, the second largest bank of the world in number of branches. Application forms will be sold in dealerships, bank branches and many others places, in a total of 30,000 places in 1,000 cities all over India, at a cost of 300 rupees, or US$ 5.94. In banks, everyone willing to finance their Nano will be able to do so by paying a minimum of 2,999 rupees, or US$ 59.39.

An electronic random sorting process will be performed 60 days after bookings are closed in what Tata calls "the first phase" of Nano sales. This first phase will name the first 100,000 owners of Nano. Deliveries will start in July.

The people that have not been chosen to buy their Nano in this first phase may keep in line or have their money back with no interest rates. If they decide to keep waiting, Tata will pay an interest rate of 8.5% for a waiting period until two years and 8.75% for a waiting period superior to two years.

When the plant in Sanand is ready, it will be able to produce 350,000 vehicles every year. Considering the high demand the cheapest car of the world will have, that may still be not enough.




Source: Tata

Tata defies the odds with Nano Europa

When the Europeans have seen Tata Nano for the first time, at last year's edition of Geneva Motor Show, most of them doubted the little car, said to be the cheapest of the world, would be able to meet legal demands regarding emissions and safety and, therefore, would ever be sold in the Old World. Certainly with that in mind Tata has decided to prove that it is indeed able to sell the cheapest car of the world in Europe, even if for that it is not that cheap anymore.



The European version of Nano will be 3.29 m long and 1.58 m wide, with a wheelbase of 2.28 m. In other words, it will be bigger than the model sold in India, what must be accounted for larger shock absorbing portions of the car's body. Trim is said to be some levels up.

The three-cylindre petrol engine will have a multipoint fuel injection and will be mated to a five speed automatic transmission, possibly not really an automatic gearbox, but an automated one. Carbon emissions are expected to be below 100 g/km. Equipments such as ABS, ESP and airbags will be standard, but only because European laws say so. The series production version is expected for 2011.








Source: Tata e Salão de Genebra

Tata Nano will be officially presented on March 23; sales will begin in April

The cheapest car of the world, Tata Nano, has faced many problems to reach the market. The biggest one was a dispute with farmers over its first factory terrains, which led Tata leave the Singur plant when it was about to start production and to take it to Gujarat. Although the new plant is not ready yet, Nano will be produced in Pune and Pantnagar. And its official presentation is already scheduled for March 23.



Nano will be on display at Tata dealerships in India by the first week of April, while bookings will start by the second week of the same month. The most important question, the price, will be clarified on March 23. Nano was not supposed to have a base price over 1 Lakh (about US$ 2,500). Let's see if Tata can keep up with that promise.
















Source: Tata