Speculation is rife about Tata Motors investing in Jucu, near the Cluj-Napoca area of Romania after a report emerged on news service MediaFax. The county’s council chief Alin Tise said meetings were held with Tata officials but declined to elaborate on the matters discussed between the two parties. The investment value or the number of jobs stipulated is not yet known, it could run into millions of dollars.
What we do know is Tata’s trying to spread its wings with the Nano project. We’ve told readers how Bangladesh and Indonesia could get assembly lines for the Nano soon after the performance of the imported models is gauged.
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If you recall two years ago DC Design set off on designing a custom Tata Nano expected to retail for over one crore rupees. You won’t hear that everyday – no wonder it made headline news around the world. Newspapers in India ran the story days before the Auto Expo. Some publication went as far as reporting on an Auto Expo unveiling. It was not to be and all we got was the odd-ball body kits through Carnation outlets.
A recent report on The Hindu BusinessLine provides more insight on this elusive creation. DC silently finished the project last year adding goodies such as a drive-by-wire system akin to cars many times its actual price, LCD touchscreen and shipped the one-off Nano to a buyer in England who runs a company that supplies components to the Nano (did he mean Caparo?).
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After keeping their word to the Indian common man, Tata Motors think it’s about time to entice Indonesian masses with the launch of its home-grown hero, Nano. As per the reports on local newspapers, Tata Motors have already set up an office in Jakrata and intend to launch the car for the Indonesian market, sometime later in 2012.
At the initial sales stage cars will be imported directly from Tata’s Sanand plant in India. Later as the sales drive up the demand Tata Motors plan to assemble the Nano in Jakrata. The decision to build an assembly line will be taken only when Tata senses growing demand.
After Sri Lanka and Nepal, it is destination Bangladesh for the Tata Nano. The Bangladeshi distributor for Tata vehicles Nitol Group has addressed the local media after the deal was finalized. The first lot of 200 cars arrives in February. The target volume is 2,000 units a year and the target customers are not only in the capital city of Dhaka but in the outskirts where lower-middle income groups reside in large numbers.
The distributor is counting on the Nano to deliver big. Over the next four years the sales target is 12,000 units a year. Through local assembly, the prices are brought down and achieving this figure is a lot easier. The decision on an assembly line is pending as the response to the car can be verified only after the launch.
The price of the Nano will start at 4.08 lakh rupees (650k Taka). Tata has not elaborated on the export plan for Nano but a top company official has told Wall Street Journal, without being explicit, that the Nano will be exported to South East Asian countries. Countries like Thailand, Myanmar and Indonesia don’t have to wait very long before the Nano reaches their shores.
Tata Motors is displaying the Nano CNG concept at the Auto Expo which we’re told is in internal discussion to hit the production line in the near future. The exact timeline is not provided by Tata officials but a 2012 debut looks likely.
The car retains the current Nano’s specifications and receives a 35-liter CNG tank with best in class CNG mileage. The software controlled CNG circuit switches off supply if it senses even a minute leakage. The components for the CNG kit are sourced from world-class suppliers according to the brochure which adds that the tank is packaged cleverly not to compromise on luggage space.
The Bi-Fuel Nano gets special color treatment and interior themed around its green credentials.
Select images shot by IAB lovers hk-harry and Siddharth Shankar
Jaguar-Land Rover may have skipped the Detroit Motorshow because of their huge presence at our very own 2012 Delhi Auto Expo. But parent company Tata Motors is definitely heading there in full swing. The centerpiece at the Tata Stall in Detroit will be the Tata eMO concept (short for Electric Mobility).
Inspired by the Pixel (which is like a posh Nano), the eMO concept can travel a 100-mile range on full charge with a top speed of 65 miles per hour.The suicide doors allow the front and rear passenger to get in easily so there is no need for 4 doors which saves weight. There is no hatch to put your luggage thus saving weight even further.
Warren Harris, Tata Technologies President and Global COO, said
” The eMO project symbolizes the coming of age of Indian automotive engineering.”
The Tata eMO will cost USD 20,000 if it goes in production which it never will. According to Tata Motors, the eMO will remain concept. However, the design study may ‘inspire’ the future of Nano or Pixel.
Tata Motors missed an early opportunity to make the Nano an icon in the Indian landscape. When the stage was reached where the factory had enough capacity to meet the anticipated demand, it tumbled like a boulder down a mountain. To balance inventory, Tata had to shut down the Sanand plant for two weeks in the second half of 2011.
To wipe out last traces of the “cheap car” image on the Nano, the company upgraded the MY2012 version with height adjustable headrests, a more powerful engine, bigger wing mirrors and better upholstery at no additional cost. At the Auto Expo last week it became clear that they are not stopping there. The ‘Nano concept’ provided the future direction of what once was known as the world’s cheapest car.
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We were fresh off the Toyota Etios recall, and we have more recall news – Tata Motors has officially announced that it will recall all Nanos on the streets (except for the 2012 models) to replace the starter motors with the updated version fitted to the 2012 model. There were many instances of the starter motor failures in the previous Nanos and thus the company has taken this decision.
Read an in-depth review of the 2012 Tata Nano
The starter motor, as the name suggests, is responsible for kick starting the engine’s operation from dormancy. This is the second major recall for the Nano, the previous one being done to install safety protection after the ‘catching-fire’ fiasco.
The recall applies to all previous generation Nanos irrespective of date of production. The whole process of replacing the starter motor will be done free of cost. The company’s spokesperson stressed on the fact that ‘it is not a safety concern’. The operation could cost Tata Motors around 1.1 billion rupees.
So if you got a Nano, contact your dealer soon!
Speculation is rife about Tata Motors investing in Jucu, near the Cluj-Napoca area of Romania after a report emerged on news service MediaFax. The county’s council chief Alin Tise said meetings were held with Tata officials but declined to elaborate on the matters discussed between the two parties. The investment value or the number of jobs stipulated is not yet known, it could run into millions of dollars.
