MUMBAI, March 23: India’s Tata Motors on Monday launched the world’s cheapest car, the Nano, hoping to revolutionise travel for millions and buck a slump in auto sales caused by the global economic crisis.

Company boss Ratan Tata said the no-frills vehicle, slated to cost just 100,000 rupees (2,000 dollars) for the basic model, will get India’s middle class urban population off motorcycles and into safer, affordable cars.

“I think we are at the gates of offering a new form of transport to the people of India and later, I hope, other markets elsewhere in the world,” he said, describing the launch as a “milestone”. “The present economic situation makes it somewhat... more attractive to the buying public,” he told reporters in Mumbai.

The wraps were taken off three Nanos -- dubbed “The People’s Car” -- at a glitzy, open-air ceremony at a south Mumbai sports ground.—AFP
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