 Tata
Motors has introduced the Nano. Six years after the project was con-ceived
in the words of Ratan N Tata, chairman of Tata Motors, the car made its
public appearance at the 2008 Auto Expo in Delhi. A topic of much
speculation and many discussions for some time now, the Nano has been in the
limelight steadfastly and even before it made an appearance. Riding on a
strong wave of popularity that saw the nation sit up and take notice of the
car that could motorise India and realise the common man's dream of owning a
car, it is not surprising that Tata Motors has employed an unusual marketing
strategy for the Nano. And one that involves the active participation of
public sector banks and financial institutions in addition to a host of Tata
Group companies like Westside, Croma and Tata Sky. Considering the
interesting and decidedly non-traditional manner in which the company is
looking at selling the Nano, it is clear that the car will have a
far-reaching effect on the auto industry.
Capable
of changing the way the auto industry is looked at until now, the Nano,
according to Ratan Tata, is a car that will give the people of India an
opportunity to own one. Though it may be difficult to build something
similar at Rs 50,000, the way a journalist at the media launch of the Nano
suggested, for a car that has drawn the attention of the world and would be
expected to come out of the US, Europe or Japan rather than India, the
journey has been of hopes and challenges, and right from the time a thought
of a small, affordable car at Rs one-lakh surfaced.
Answering
'Good afternoon' in reply to a media query about what Tata Motors has to say
to Mamata Banerjee, a few hours before the launch of the Nano in Mumbai,
Ratan Tata expressed his sadness for having to move out of West Bengal and
the conditions under which the decision was arrived at. Expressing his
intention to do business in West Bengal in the future, Ratan Tata drew the
attention of the world media towards a journey from putting up a factory
near Kolkata to the public launch of the product. Remarking that the company
has launched the car before the Gujarat plant has come up, Ratan Tata said,
"We made a promise and we have kept that promise". "The
biggest challenge was to develop a 'proper' car in the promise cost."
 With
external dimensions of length 3099 mm and width 1620 mm, the 1652 mm tall
Nano is highly compact viewed from the outside and quite spacious inside.
The one-box design in metal employs innovative ways at saving weight and
costs, without sacrificing on looks. Quite an attractive car the Nano is. It
is also modern with bold lamps at the front, the steeply raked front portion
signalling an effort towards achieving a low drag co-efficient. There are no
hard edges; the smooth flowing lines juxtaposing each other form a
silhouette that is clever in utilising space and graceful at the same time.
On the safety front, the Nano passes the roll over test and offset impact.
The all-sheet metal body has reinforced passenger compartment, crumple zones
and intrusion resistant doors in addition to seat belts and tubeless tyres.
The
inside of the car may have a minimalist feel but is an example of brilliant
use of space. It is nearly 21 per cent more spacious than the smallest car
available today in India, according to Rajiv Dubey, president of the
passenger car business at Tata Motors. A dashboard with instruments arranged
at the top end of the centre console draws attention. The quality of the
plastics is good for a car that costs Rs one-lakh. Good ergonomics that
include higher seating result in a roomy interior. Capable of seating four,
the choice of trim and features varies according to the model one would buy.
 The
Nano is available in three variants - Standard, CX and LX. BS II and BS III
compliant, the Nano Standard is available in three colour options,
single-tone seats and fold down rear seat. The CX is available in five
colours, with HVAC, two-tone seats, a parcel shelf, booster-assisted brakes,
fold-down rear seat with nap rest. The LX, which is available in BS III is
furnished in three colour options - the sunshine yellow being the custom
colour - and with features that include complete fabric seats, central
locking, front power windows, body coloured exteriors, fog lamps, electronic
trip meter, cup holder in front console, mobile charger point and rear
spoiler.
The
2-cylinder, multi-point fuel injected petrol engine with a displacement of
624cc is situated at the rear and under the rear seat. The two cylinders are
arranged in parallel with the drive going to the rear wheels through a
transaxle. With the rear space taken by the powertrain, if there is any
storage space, it is at the front. Here too, it is not as good as the
space-saver spare wheel and the fuel filler lid takes a good deal of space.
The fuel filler lid is under the bonnet. With a kerb weight of 635 kg for
the LX model, the Nano is light. The 35 PS of power put out by the engine at
5250 rpm and an impressive 48 Nm of maximum torque delivered between 2500
rpm and 3500 rpm turn the car into an energetic performer. Interestingly,
Tata engineers arranged the firing order of the two cylinders at 180
degrees. This results in both the pistons being positioned in tandem to each
other.
 Use of
lightweight aluminium has resulted in weight saving. The ratios of the
four-speed gearbox of the Nano are matched well with the torque
characteristics of the engine and result in an impressive performance to be
precise. Availability of a good amount of torque at low rpm results in good
drivability in town. On the highway also the Nano pulls quite admirably,
until it reaches the top speed of 105 kmph. With lowest CO2 emission among
cars in India at 101 gm/km according to Dubey, the Nano is claimed to have a
fuel efficiency of 23.6 km per litre as certified by the Automotive Research
Association of India (ARAI).
Independent
front suspension with McPherson struts and gas filled dampers and
semi-trailing rear with gas filled dampers result is good dynamics for a car
that appears tall at first glance. There is an amount of roll but the car
shows an uncanny ability to carry a clean line through corners. The
suspension is tuned for ride rather than sporty handling. A ground clearance
of 180 mm and gradability of 30 per cent should speak about the
dynamic-ability of the Nano.
 Outcome
of a project that has seen Tata Motors invest over Rs 2000 crore, the Nano
is a clever equation of costs without cutting corners. It is currently made
at the Pantnagar plant, where Tata Motors manufactures the Ace mini-truck,
and the capacity is 50,000 units per annum. As for the price, the Nano
Standard adds to Rs 134,250 ex-showroom Mumbai. The CX costs Rs 163,320
ex-showroom Mumbai and the LX costs Rs 185,375 ex-showroom Mumbai. Supported
by 15 preferred banks/NBFCs for the Tata Nano booking loan product, the
State Bank of India is an exclusive financier to the car that would start
rolling out of Sanand plant in Gujarat by the end of this year and where the
capacity would be 250,000 according to Ravi Kant, the managing director of
Tata Motors.
Set to
tap the portion of India that could not afford to buy a decent car for some
reason or the other, the Tata Nano promises a new future for the auto
industry in India and could change forever the way the industry is looked
at. Coming at a time when the auto industry the world over is scrambling to
cut costs and meet stringent environmental norms, the Nano could redefine
the global auto industry as it travels to Europe and other parts of the
world. It is therefore not for nothing that Ratan Tata describes this car as
the one that is set to change the Indian motoring landscape.
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Tata
AutoComp plays a vital role in Nano's development and cost consideration
Tata
AutoComp Systems Limited (Tata AutoComp) has contributed significantly in
the engineering, design, and supply of components to the Tata Nano.
According to R S Thakur, executive director and chief operating officer of
Tata AutoComp, the teams at Tata AutoComp worked closely with Tata Motors
right since the inception of the project, to design and engineer various
components, keeping the cost, superior quality and performance parameters in
mind which required design and process optimisation.
"We are proud to
be associated with the Tata Nano - an engineering marvel - which is both
pioneering and path-breaking for the automotive industry worldwide and Tata
AutoComp has a head-start in this emerging market," said Thakur.
Tata
AutoComp Systems Limited - Interiors and Plastics Division is the supplier
of bumpers, dashboard, cockpit (front console), door handles, door and
pillar trims, air vents and many powertrain plastic components like cylinder
head cover, timing gear cover among others. Tata Johnson Controls Automotive
is the supplier of seats. Tata Toyo Radiator is the supplier of radiator fan
module. Tata Yazaki Autocomp is the supplier of EMS harness body, wiring
harness body and battery cable. Tata Ficosa Automotive is the supplier of
gear shifters, rear view mirror sets and washer systems. Tata Visteon
Automotive is the supplier of air intake manifold. Tata AutoComp GY
Batteries (TGY) is the supplier of automotive batteries.
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Nano
Europa by 2011