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Interesting Facts about the Tata Nano

At a time when the demand for fuel efficient and low-cost cars is high, the entry of Tata's much publicized proposed small car Nano into the Indian car market is being widely seen as a ray of hope. Unveiled on January 10, 2008 at the 9th annual Auto Expo at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, the Tata Nano is a small, affordable city car primarily aimed at Indian car market.

Widely perceived as the "People's Car" and touted as the “Cheapest car in the world” available for Rs 1 lakh, the Tata Nano is a dream come true for Ratan Tata, the chairman of the Tata Motors. Though it has received an overwhelming response as soon as it was unveiled, the road for Tata Nano was not smooth. Yet to be commercial launched in India and elsewhere, the car has faced may hurdles in its path. Here is an interesting peep into the journey of the Nano from a mere concept to reality:

Nano's mission began way back in 2003 when Ratan Tata first thought of gifting the India’s middle class society a car that will carry a price tag of a two wheeler and features of a four wheeler. The Nano concept popped up into his mind when he saw a family traveling somehow scrambled in a two wheeler in rain. The very site of this urged him to build a car that will suit the need of middle class family.
Earlier, Nano was speculated to be a simple four-wheel auto rickshaw. But this was then clarified by Ratan Tata that it’s "a real car" and not any vehicle with plastic curtains or roof. The Nana rather has a roomy passenger compartment with generous leg space and head room.
According to the Tata Motors, the conceptualization of the Nano was a highly refined idea. With an emphasis on innovation and new design approaches, the Nano was designed at the Institute of Development in Automotive Engineering, Italy.
The Nano would be available in Standard, Deluxe, and Luxury variants. The Deluxe and the Luxury variants are air-conditioned and have body coloured bumpers. Alloy wheels, fog lamps, and ICE are the other features of the Luxury variant. Most notably, the Nano has 21% space in the interior and 8% smaller exterior compared to its closest competitor Maruti 800.
Carrying a length of 3.1m, width of 1.5 m, and height of 1.6 m and adequate ground clearance, the little Nano can easily manoeuvre on busy roads in cities as well as in rural areas.
Tata Motors is also working on an environment-friendly electric version of the Nano called the E-Nano. It would be the world's cheapest electric car if it gets launched in the market. It is also said that E-Nano would have attached or side solar panels. Further, a hybrid Nano is also speculated to make its entry.
Tata Nano has already generated competition even before its entry into the market. Bajaj Auto is said to be working on a small car project pitted against the Nano carrying same price delivering 30km/litre. Fiat, General Motors, Ford, Hyundai, and Toyota are also interested in producing small and highly affordable cars aimed largely at middle-class consumers. Players like the proposed inexpensive and eco-friendly electric cars like the Tara Tiny, the Oreva Super are expected to take on the Nano.

Tata's ambitious small car was named Nano because it connotes high technology and small size. The Nano made its European debut at the Geneva Auto Show 2008 and successfully gathered huge crowd. The onlookers marveled at its small wheels, straw-sized exhaust pipe, and single windshield wiper.
The Nano will be offered in a wide range of body colours, and other accessories so that the car can be customized to individual preferences. It can comfortably seat four persons. Four doors with high seating position make ingress and egress easy.
The Nano comes with a rear-wheel drive. The lean design has helped to minimize weight, which further maximize performance per unit of energy consumed and delivers high fuel efficiency.
Tata Motors claims that the Nano is completely safe. It features crumple zones, intrusion-resistant doors, seat belts, strong seats and anchorages, and the rear tailgate glass bonded to the body. Also, the Nano's emission performance exceeds regulatory requirements with low carbon dioxide emissions thereby providing the twin benefits of an affordable transportation solution with a low carbon footprint. Its pollution levels are lesser than the two-wheelers being manufactured in India today.
Tata Motors is likely to start Nano bookings from March or April 2009. The Nano was originally planned to be launched commercially in October 2008 but the land issues at Singur in West Bengal delayed the launch of the car. Ratan Tata then moved the Nano plant to Sanand, near Ahmedabad, Gujarat. In addition to the Uttarakhand facility, the Tata Motors also plans to manufacture the Nano from various facilities including the Pune and Pantnagar plant.
Since the day it was announced, masses across the world were keen to know how the ‘People's Car’ looks. The Tata Motors' website received nearly 7.9 million hits on January 10, 2008 (the day the Nano was unveiled), while the Tata Nano website registered 4 million hits in 30 hours.
It is interesting to know that Tata Motors has already won the Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award in the 'Transportation' category for 'very impressive design accomplishment' for the Nano. The contest had received over 700 entries, which were later brought down to 162 for the final selection.