NEW DELHI: One of India’s biggest motor manufacturers has announced ambitious plans to launch a cheap, small “people’s car” in 2008 for about £1,200.
Tata Motors, a subsidiary of one of the country’s largest conglomerates, said it would invest Rs10 billion in the plant near Kolkata in West Bengal. Initially the plant will employ 2,000 people. The “people’s car” has been a dream of the company’s chairman, Ratan Tata, for many years. In the past, Mr Tata has talked about a vehicle that would “bridge the gap between cars and scooters” for three million people a year in India.
The cost of the car, a four-door, small-capacity engine vehicle, will be around Rs100,000 (£1,200). This is less than half the price of the next cheapest car on the road in India, making it affordable for those who at present buy motorbikes.
“Families who presently all ride through the heat and dust on a two-wheeler will have an alternative in the form of a car for the first time,” said Ravi Kant, managing director of Tata Motors. There has been recent speculation that Tata is considering buying DaimlerChrysler’s four-seater Smart car. Executives at Tata refused to comment on the reports.
Mr Kant said the “people’s car” would be like “nothing else” on the road. “We have prototypes, and a lot of work has gone into this project. It is going to be a major change in the way people look at cars and create a whole new market.”
Early versions of the car which, like the VW Beetle, will have a rear engine, are already running in Tata’s plant in the western city of Pune. The new model’s price would be kept low by using more plastic than steel, and swapping hi-tech glue for traditional welding. Rival manufacturers have questioned whether the Tata car will meet safety standards, especially if the company plans to export such models to Europe, which has stringent environmental and crash-protection specifications.
However, Mr Kant said: “If the car is to be sold [abroad] then, whatever the requirements of a particular geography, we will meet them.” Tata said.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service
