The Nano Science & Technology Consortium (NSTC) announces admissions to its Nanotechnology Sensitization Program.
The demand from second-time car buyers outstrips the demand from those seeking to upgrade themselves from two-wheelers. Tata Motors' city dealers say about 60 per cent of all Nano buyers are those who already own a car and the rest 40 per cent are those who either own a two-wheeler or have never owned a vehicle earlier.
Maruti Suzuki India, the country's largest carmaker, may after all do what everyone expects it to: take on Ratan Tata's Nano with its own low-price car. For long, there has been a will-they-won't-they kind of speculation about how Maruti will protect its entry-level consumer base from the Nano, whose lowest variant is likely to cost Rs 1 lakh in some places and about Rs 1.26 lakh in some others. The higher variants may cost Rs 1.5 lakh or more.
'The TMC did not bother telling me, a sitting MLA for 20 years, why I was not being given a ticket.'
Market leaders saw good traction for new cars, including the electric ones.
Sabeer Bhatia, founder of hotmail, may give some concrete shape to his proposed Nano City project, to be set up near Panchkula in Haryana, on June 9, when he visits India to finalise equity structure with real-estate player Parsvnath Developers.
Joining the list of nations that are keen to have the Nano ply on their roads, Cuba today said the world's cheapest car from the house of Tatas has huge potential in the Caribbean nation.
Tata Motors has decided to stick to the Rs 1-lakh price tag -- plus value-added tax (VAT) plus transport charges -- for the car as the company believes hiking the price at this stage will be a 'breach of promise to the customers.'
Now Delhi-based Sona Koyo, which is supplying steering systems for the Nano, and Minda Group, which supplies electrical switches, have confirmed that they and other component suppliers have suggested a price rise to Tata Motors.
The announcement comes close on the heels of the US publication Conde Nast Portfolio's report that 'Nano' would not be sold in the US. "The model (Nano) won't be sold in the US but has the potential to radically alter the market for manufacturers in India. Tata-inspired followers are already revving up their engines," Conde Nast Portfolio said.
Tata Motors has set up a separate team at its plant in Pune to examine ways to cut manufacturing costs on the Nano, the small car scheduled for an October launch, to bring the ex-showroom price down to the psychological Rs 1 lakh mark, managing director Ravi Kant said.
Tata Motors now eyes the US, European and African markets.
A Canadian company will be manufacturing auto parts for Tata's Nano, as more Canadian companies look for business avenues in India.
Kolkata-based Tara International has teamed up with China's Aucma, a leading player in the electrical vehicles and appliances segment, to manufacture this car.
Kolkata-based Tara International has teamed up with China's Aucma, a leading player in the electrical vehicles and appliances segment, to manufacture this car.
Briefing the media after a three-hour tour at the project site, Ravi Kant said the trial production would commence in June-July and after a month or two, regular production would begin. "Commercial production, that is the real thing, will start in October, around the Durga Puja time," he said.
Rs 1,199 spread comfortably across 84 months or 7 years. The rate of interest is 11-11.5 per cent, which is cheaper than a two wheeler loan.
Fiat is riding the New 500 wave across Europe since its July 2007
TT electronics Plc said on Tuesday it has secured a contract to supply speed sensors for the Indian conglomerate Tata's Rs 100,000 car, Tata Nano, which is expected to be launched later this year. However, the financial details of the contract were not revealed.
Selected inner structural panels will be pressed and assembled by Caparo at a new facility in Singur, adjacent to the Tata Nano manufacturing plant in West Bengal.
In an effort to make the world's cheapest car more affordable, Tata Motors is exploring the possibility of providing loans for the Nano either through Tata Motors Finance, a wholly owned subsidiary, or existing financing channels.
NRI industrialist Swraj Paul-owned Caparo Group, a key vendor for Tata Motors' Nano project, is setting up a Rs 120-crore (Rs 1.2 billion) facility at Singur to supply sheet metal and vehicle frames for the world's cheapest car -- due for commercial launch later this year.
Launch will be under separate brand name
The reasons why American journalism is against the Tata Nano are obvious. The Nano was 'not invented here (in the United States).'
The truth is that this is an impressive realisation of a corporate vision, a car long-promised, designed explicitly to hit a price point, and one that will meet the needs of poorer consumers. It is safer than a bicycle and cleaner than an old moped.
'If people use the mask properly, we can confidently say that this is as protective as the best mask in the market.'<
Speaking about the field that India could enter when it came to commercial application of nano science and technology, Rao suggested that India foray into manufacturing sensors.
Tata Motors already has Nano Europa, a slightly jazzed-up version of the plain vanilla Nano. Nano Europa could make its debut into the European market in 2011 at about $8,000. Reports say that the US version is likely to be similarly priced.
In March this year, the anticipation of Nano launch coupled with a sluggish demand had made a sharp dent in used car prices by 25-30 per cent. Dealers had feared a further dip in prices by around 10 per cent.
The campus placements process usually starts in July-August, but is likely to start earlier this year.
It was late last year when Tata Motors announced that it would set up the first plant for producing the Rs 1-lakh car at Gujarat's Sanand rather than Karnataka's Dharwad, among other places.
Nearly 80 per cent of the buyers opting for the more expensive variants instead of the base-level car which is priced at Rs 1.23 lakh (ex showroom, Delhi). The trend is based on responses from dealers and banks that took bookings in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Kolkata on Thursday. The Nano CX costs Rs 1.48 lakh and the top-end LX Rs 1.72 lakh.
When a car gets mixed up with national pride, just as journalism, economy and cricket have, questions are condemned to be still-born.
Like many other low-unit value, fast-moving consumer goods, the Nano can be expected to alter the dynamics of its market like nothing before.
Some of the biggest and the best component suppliers in the business were roped in, with scissors and ingenuity to bring out solutions within a specified cost structure.
If Mr Tata really wants to do something for India, wouldn't he have done better if he had developed a tiny car with serious fuel emission and fuel economy innovations, instead of simply a brand?
Among other things, Ratan Tata also said, 'All I can say at the moment is that the project is highly profitable. After all, I am not doing it for philanthropy.'
In view of the expected significant demand and limited production capacity initially until the Sanand plant is fully ramped up to capacity, the Tata Nano will be available through a booking mode.
History will be created in Mumbai on Monday evening when Tata Motors launches the world's least expensive car, Nano -- a car that can redefine personal transportation in modern India.
President A P J Abdul Kalam has favoured India and IBM jointly developing and marketing nano computers.
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