Tata Nano Launch Date March 23,Bookings Start In April !

Tata Motors has finally announced a date for the release of the Nano, a car targeted to be the least expensive in the world.

The sporty-looking four-door Nano, dubbed the "people's car," has drawn worldwide attention due to its planned price tag of just 100,000 rupees ($2000 ) for the basic model -- cheaper than some laptop computers.
"The much-awaited Tata Nano will be (formally) launched at a function in Mumbai on March 23," said Debasis Ray, spokesman for Tata Motors, India's largest vehicle maker and part of the sprawling tea-to-steel Tata Group.
Nano cars will be on show at Tata Motors dealerships in the first week of April and the bookings will start in the second week of April.
Final details about pricing and distribution would be announced at the launch.

All Charged Up For 'Nano Taxi'

Think Mumbai, think black and yellow Fiat taxis. For decades now, the trusted Fiat has helped Mumbai get around be it day or night, with the friendly taximan always just a wave away.

But the cabbies now want a change for the better. With the Premier Padminis no longer being manufactured, they are looking forward to the Tata Nano hitting the roads.

“Majority of them (drivers) are anxious and have enquired about this vehicle because there's no other viable option,” says President, Mumbai Taximen Union, A L Quadrose.

The drivers are more than happy. “It’s cheap, it looks good. Who wouldn’t want it?” says a driver N P Singh

But the Nano may not be viable just as it is. The taximen want few changes for it to become their ideal run-about.

Read More

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/nano-as-taxi-mumbai-drivers-all-geared-up/56675-3.html

Nano... to hit second hand car sales

Bangalore, Jan 15 Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car, has not only created ripples in the new car market but also impacted prices in the used car market, industry sources said.

The most affected cars in the used car segment would be Maruti 800, 4-6-year-old models of Hyundai Santro, Tata Indica and old Fiats, said Pankaj Patel, vice-president of a car portal carazoo.com.

Patel said prices of the base model of Maruti 800 in the used vehicle market would decline by 30-35%, as buyers might compare these cars with the Tata’s Rs 1 lakh car as both comes under entry level small car segment. He said even other

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http://www.financialexpress.com/news/----to-hit-second-hand-car-sales/261812/

Tata Nano Interior Pics

Pictures of Tata Nano's spacious interiors.

VW plans rival to Tata`s Nano

Launch will be under separate brand name.

German auto maker Volkswagen has hinted for the first time that it is looking at developing a low-cost car but under a separate brand name.

“Volkswagen cars are associated with certain standards of safety; they are not meant to be used only for intra-city travel. So if we look at a low-cost car it would be with a new brand name rather than Volkswagen, Audi or Skoda,” said Andreas Prinz, managing director of Volkswagen India’s passenger car business.

Prinz was replying to a question on how the company would respond to the challenge from Tata Motors’ Nano, priced at Rs 1 lakh, currently on display at the Auto Expo in Delhi.

Volkswagen’s possible entry would mark the first real competition to the Nano, which will be the world’s cheapest car on the road when it is launched in September/October.

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http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?leftnm=lmnu1&subLeft=1&autono=310837&tab=r

Paran Balakrishnan: Tata leaves rivals in the dust

Has Ratan Tata shifted the goalposts for every carmaker in the world?

Last week the 70-year-old chief of India's giant Tata Group dramatically proved the naysayers wrong when he pulled the covers off the Nano - the $3200 car that could change the shape of the global vehicle industry.

The 3m-long Tata Nano is a looker - and it will be the world's cheapest car when it hits the market around October. The Tatas have shaved costs in innumerable ways and in the process they've pulled off an engineering coup that has astounded the car industry.

"It's a full-fledged car and not just an excuse for one. Though it's the cheapest car in the world you wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen in it," says Hormazd Sorabjee, editor of Autocar India, adding the caveat he has yet to take a test spin in it.

Read More http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=65&objectid=10486804

Nano Creates ripples in the US

Ratan Tata’s dream car, Nano, has not only etched his name in the world history for bringing out the world’s cheapest car but has also created a stir around the world, specially in the US, which is known for its car-crazy people.

While research has brought out that Nano could actually empower 65 per cent of the families in India, especially in the middle and the lower middle class to afford a car, the world itself has been in the awe of the compact car, which has put the critics on the back foot.

In the US almost all newspapers had the reports on it and most news channels devoted a special feature to it. It has also created a buzz on the Internet.

The New York Times in fact stole a march over rest of the media in the US with a scoop featuring general features of the Nano just a day before its formal launch here. It had details from suppliers of parts on how Tata was able to cut costs and how innovation had gone into its creation.

Read More http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080113/biz.htm#2