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Tata Nano hits the road

March 23, 2009

Tata Motors on Monday commercially launched its people's car, Nano, promising to stick to the Rs 100,000 price tag for the base model.

"From today onwards, the product will be available in the showrooms. There will be three versions - the base version, which is the one we promised to the people of India and two upper tier versions," Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata told a news conference.

The higher-end versions would have airconditioning, power brakes and power windows, among others.

"We hope this day we will usher in a new form of transport," Tata said, adding that the endeavour was never to build the cheapest car but to provide an affordable form of transportation. He, however, hastened to add that "we made a promise and that we've kept the promise."

The bookings will commence on April 9 and will go on till April 25.

Just ahead of the Nano launch on Monday, Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata told editors that the car, which would have the smallest footprint on the road, will be sold to the first 100,000 buyers at a price to be announced later.

The promise that has been made to sell the car at around Rs 1-lakh would be kept despite the fact that commodity prices had shot up, Tata said, adding that the fall in commodity prices now may provide some cushion.

The delivery of the first lot of Nano cars will begin in early-July, he said, adding that applications for booking of the car would be available in 30,000 locations in 1,000 cities across India.

Text: PTI

Image: Tata Nano, the base version. | Photograph, courtesy: Tata Motors

Also see: Nano: One man's loss, another's gain

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