Executives at India's Tata Motors admit that their company is a bit behind the times when it comes to environmental awareness when compared to established players in Europe. "We are behind as far as the world is concerned. There are many Scandinavian companies because they are more conscious of this than the rest of us," says JJ Irani, a director for Tata's automotive business. He adds, "We are not shy of learning."

For this reason, Irani and a few of his colleagues are currently visiting a number of large European companies in an attempt to pick up a few pointers on how to improve their eco-credentials. In addition, the group has plans to meet with executives at some of the world's largest oil companies. Irani hopes these meetings will allow Tata to "catch up faster" than if they were on their own.

What's the big deal? For one, the Tata Nano promises to be one of the most popular vehicles in the world due to its extremely low price and decent performance. This car is going to need huge new plants created for its assembly, and these meetings will hopefully help Tata build the new car with as little impact to the environment as possible.


[Source: Financial Times]

Although the all-electric Tata Indica on display at the SAE World Congress in Detroit this week is not the soon-to-be-released model, there's a lot we can learn from the vehicle - and from TM4's Eriz Azeroual - about how the technology will be implemented when the new model goes on sale in Norway either later this year or in early 2010 (yes, this is later than previously expected). Tata Motors showed off the Indica EV at the Bologna Motor Show in December, but the hatchback is making an appearance in Detroit because of the work that TM4, a subsidiary of Hydro Québec, did providing the permanent magnet motor and the inverter. TM4's Azeroual (he's business development manager there) told us that a limited number of the Indica's are already testing in Norway and that Tata Motors is "a cool company. Very aggressive." Even though they're most famous for the Nano and apparently wanting to dominate the low-end automobile market, in Europe market they want to be known for electric vehicles.

Norway is a perfect entry point to bring an EV to Europe because there is a high tax on gasoline-powered vehicles. The high cost of electric vehilces isn't totally equalized by the taxes, but EVs and gas-powered vehicle prices end up being "comparable" in Norway and this presents customers with an "interesting choice," Azeroual said. Following the Norwegian introduction, Tata plans to expand the Indica EV to other European markets and then possibly the U.S.

Tata knew pent-up demand for its super-cheap Nano would be so high in advance of its official delivery date that the Indian automaker set up an unique pre-ordering system allowing potential customers to sign up with booking forms. After all these forms have been collected, a computer will randomly choose the first 100,000 people to take possession of tiny Nano in July.

That process began just five days ago, on April 1st, and Tata has already sold over 51,000 booking forms to its dealer network and individual customers, with another 30,000 or so being taken from a number of Tata partners. Each order form is being sold for 300 Rupees, which is about $6 in U.S. funds. Prices for individual Nanos are reportedly ranging from between 95,000 and 145,000 Rupees ($1,880 to $2,780), which officially makes this the World's Cheapest Car.

One thing seems sure: Tata is going to sell a ton of these cars. Whether or not that's a good thing depends on your particular viewpoint. It's almost a certainty that people will be safer in the four-wheeled enclosed Nano than on the little scooters and cycles they are currently riding, but a number of environmental groups have voiced concerns over the impact this many new cars will have on their surroundings. Regardless of how this ultimately plays out, this is only the beginning.



[Source: Economic Times]

Could an extremely inexpensive, minuscule little car like the Tata Nano actually sell in America, the land historically enamored with powerful V8 engines surrounded by as much sheet metal as possible? According to reports, Tata Motors may be about to find out, as the Indian automaker is said to be looking at an introduction into the U.S. market by 2011 or 2012.

What makes Ratan Tata, chairman of the automaker that bears his name, think that his diminutive machine might sell in the United States? The economy, of course. Americans may be willing to accept some of the sacrifices that would go hand-in-hand with owning the World's Cheapest Car, though the version likely to sell in the States would surely differ in major ways from what's is now on sale in India.

If the Tata Nano were to hit the U.S. market, it would need to pass the same safety and emissions regulations as any other car currently sold in America. Those are not insurmountable tasks, however, as proven by the version of the Nano that's planned for European markets. So far, there's no indication how much a Tata Nano would cost in U.S. dollars if it were sold here.


[Source: Financial Times]

The Tata Nano has endured more than its fair share of delays, having originally carried a planned sale date of October, 2008. Needless to say, that time frame came and went with zero Nanos rolling down the assembly line, due to a wide range of issues, not the least of which was a great deal of civil unrest at the first site where production was planned in West Bengal. The Nano's assembly plant was relocated to Gurajat.

All that bad news seems to be over today as Tata has announced that its little city car will finally be launched on March 23 and the Indian automaker will begin accepting orders just a few short weeks later. The price being thrown around is 100,000 rupees, which translates to just under $2,000 in U.S. dollars at current exchange rates. That would make the Nano, which comes equipped with a 625cc twin cylinder gasoline engine, the world's cheapest automobile.


[Source: Tata Motors]

Once again, Tata Motors has confirmed that it plans to launch diesel, electric and compressed air-powered versions of its diminutive Nano microcar. We think that's great, but it's hard to get too excited about the prospect until the standard twin cylinder gas-powered model is actually available.

On the electric front, the Indian automaker has reportedly acquired an interest in a Norwegian electric car company called Miljo Grenland Innovasjon, which could help get a low-speed electric version of the Nano on roadways sooner. Further off into the distance would be versions of the microcar using compressed air technology developed by MDI.

Spokespeople for Tata Motors promise that Nano will enter production sometime before April of this year, with diesel-powered models scheduled to arrive before 2010. If the inexpensive little car ever makes it to U.S. shores, it may happen first as a low-speed electric vehicle, which would mean it wouldn't be subject to the same strict safety standards that more traditional cars must meet.


[Source: Green Car Advisor]

Will the Tata Nano, much hyped as the world's cheapest car, ever arrive? Production of the car, which has has been delayed by protests in the recent past, could be put off once again now that Tata Motors unexpectedly lost money in the third fiscal quarter (which ended in December). Sales of Tata's other vehicles were down and the company had to temporarily close some plants; there were also layoffs at Tata and at Jaguar Land Rover, which Tata bought from Ford last summer. The Nano was unveiled in January 2008, at which time the company told the world that the $2,000 cars would be available for sale by the end of 2008 (didn't happen). Tata Motors has now told Automotive News Europe (subs req'd) that it does not currently have a definite timetable for bringing the Nano to market. Better exhale on that breath you're holding.


[Source: Automotive News Europe (subs req'd)]

We've been expecting Tata to officially announce a diesel engine option for its diminutive little Nano microcar for quite some time now, and things appear to be moving in that direction once again. Tensions have been high over the last few months as violent protesters forced the Indian automaker to move the Nano's production site from West Bengal to an interim facility in Pantnagar, where Tata believes it can produce some 80,000 Nanos by March of 2010. After production ramps up and a second plant in Sanand is up and running, Tata hopes to produce 150,000 of its microcars in that first full year of production. And, after that ball's started rolling, a diesel engine option is expected that will offer a more expensive and more frugal alternative to the twin-cylinder 625cc petrol-powered unit that will be standard. Luxury options like air conditioning and an automatic transmission will also be available. Thanks for the tip, Shrawan!


[Source: Indian Autos Blog]

Tata Motors made a big splash when it announced the Nano, billed as the world's cheapest automobile. Could the Indian automaker follow that car up with the world's cheapest hybrid? Well, that really depends on your definition of hybrid, as Tata is said to be working on a more eco-friendly version of the Nano microcar that will feature stop/start technology and is referring to the machine as a micro hybrid. Semantics aside, the Bosch-supplied technology is expected to reduce fuel consumption and improve emissions by something like 5 to 10 percent. All that for a few hundred dollars.

Of course, being such an inexpensive machine, even a few hundred bucks is a big percentage of the Nano's $2,500 price tag, and Tata is worried that the new micro hybrid drivetrain will add too much cost to the car. Tata is also expected to launch diesel and electric versions of the Nano, and we're not sure what order each of the models will launch in, and we all know there are many factors that can influence Tata's timeline.

[Source: Hybrid Cars]

The last-minute relocation of the factory to build the new Tata Nano has meant an overall delay to the program. On top of the that, the diesel version has been delayed even longer. Most recently, Tata had planned to launch the diesel version of the world's cheapest car sometime in 2009, but that has been put off for an indeterminate time. The Indian automaker is now scrambling to get the gasoline version into production during the first quarter of next year.

[Source: Just-Auto - sub. req'd]