24/02/2009 The Hindu
Tata Motors is all set to launch the worlds cheapest car Nano. Though officially the company is still to announce the launch date, sources said Nano was likely to hit the roads next month, probably on March 3, the birth anniversary of Tata groups founder Jamsetji Tata. Initially, Nano is likely to be offered to select customers, including celebrities, sportspersons and leading politicians as part of Tata Motors plan to re-create the hype and excitement which was there when the Rs. 1-lakh car was first unveiled before the world in the Auto Expo 2008. Tata Motors is still trying to recover from the setback it suffered due to the Singur land row that led to the scrapping of its production facility in West Bengal, which was then shifted to Gujarat. It now wants to make the launch event memorable and historic. Through the grand launch, it also wants to erase the bad publicity that the company and the nation got in the world media due to the land dispute that delayed the Nano launch.
Though the mass production of Nano will still take some time as the new manufacturing facility at Sanand near Ahmedabad will take months to complete, Tata Motors has been gearing for small scale production of Nano from its new plants in Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) and also from Pune.
The company had already successfully completed field trails of Nano in the Kumaon hills in Uttarakhand, while its senior officials are busy these days taking Nano to various places of religious importance to seek divine blessings. Sources said Tata group head, Ratan Tata, the brain behind the ambitious project, has instructed officials that Nano be taken to all important shrines across the country before the launch.
Tata Motors had already taken the Nano to the Golden Temple in Amritsar and also to Khawaja Moinudeen Chistis Dargah in Ajmer. Nano cars were driven hundreds of km to these places of pilgrimage, thus proving its road-worthiness.
Meanwhile, Tata Motors is also firming up its marketing strategy that would revolve around projecting the world cheapest car as peoples car, besides finalising the loan strategy. State Bank of India had already been appointed as the exclusive booking agent for Nano.
The booking amount for Nano is likely to be around Rs. 70,000. The company has announced the prices of Nano between Rs. 1 lakh and Rs. 1.34 lakh. Initially, the company would take bookings of just one lakh cars as mass production of the vehicle would be possible only by 2010, and till then only 3,000 cars a month are likely to be manufactured.
Tata Motors is all set to launch the worlds cheapest car Nano. Though officially the company is still to announce the launch date, sources said Nano was likely to hit the roads next month, probably on March 3, the birth anniversary of Tata groups founder Jamsetji Tata. Initially, Nano is likely to be offered to select customers, including celebrities, sportspersons and leading politicians as part of Tata Motors plan to re-create the hype and excitement which was there when the Rs. 1-lakh car was first unveiled before the world in the Auto Expo 2008. Tata Motors is still trying to recover from the setback it suffered due to the Singur land row that led to the scrapping of its production facility in West Bengal, which was then shifted to Gujarat. It now wants to make the launch event memorable and historic. Through the grand launch, it also wants to erase the bad publicity that the company and the nation got in the world media due to the land dispute that delayed the Nano launch.
Though the mass production of Nano will still take some time as the new manufacturing facility at Sanand near Ahmedabad will take months to complete, Tata Motors has been gearing for small scale production of Nano from its new plants in Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) and also from Pune.
The company had already successfully completed field trails of Nano in the Kumaon hills in Uttarakhand, while its senior officials are busy these days taking Nano to various places of religious importance to seek divine blessings. Sources said Tata group head, Ratan Tata, the brain behind the ambitious project, has instructed officials that Nano be taken to all important shrines across the country before the launch.
Tata Motors had already taken the Nano to the Golden Temple in Amritsar and also to Khawaja Moinudeen Chistis Dargah in Ajmer. Nano cars were driven hundreds of km to these places of pilgrimage, thus proving its road-worthiness.
Meanwhile, Tata Motors is also firming up its marketing strategy that would revolve around projecting the world cheapest car as peoples car, besides finalising the loan strategy. State Bank of India had already been appointed as the exclusive booking agent for Nano.
The booking amount for Nano is likely to be around Rs. 70,000. The company has announced the prices of Nano between Rs. 1 lakh and Rs. 1.34 lakh. Initially, the company would take bookings of just one lakh cars as mass production of the vehicle would be possible only by 2010, and till then only 3,000 cars a month are likely to be manufactured.
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