First revealed at the beginning of the year, the Tata Nano received unprecedented attention for Indian automaker, Tata Motors. If you never heard of Tata previously, then you most likely did when the company announced that they were building a car that would retail for the US equivalent of $2500.
Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Tata would begin production of the Tata Nano during the fourth quarter of this year, with a starting price of $2300 pegged. To keep costs from spiraling, the company also announced that they would tone down publicity in a bid to cap overhead.
Tata Motors is constructing a plant in Singur, located in the state of West Bengal. The facility will be able to expand to keep up with demand, likely to boost Tata Motors’ share of the Indian market substantially.
The company absorbed British automakers Jaguar and LandRover earlier this year and is attempting to deal with a higher cost of materials due to elevated fuel prices, vehicle financing availability, and a global economical downturn.
The four passenger Tata Nano will feature a 2-cylinder 623cc engine that will be located in the rear of the rear wheel drive car. Estimated fuel economy numbers for US roads are about 50 mpg city and 60 mpg highway. The car will be available in India only with export to Europe expected within the next few years. There are no plans to bring the car to North America.
