Tata News

The car went on sale on Tuesday with the first deliveries starting in July.Already dealers are reporting long queues from buyers with the waiting list extending out to 12 months.The Nano has been designed with low cost in mind.The budget four-door five-seater car, has a small 22kW 624cc two cylinder engine at the rear and a four-speed manual transmission.Engineers have trimmed down the car so it appeals to Indians hoping to trade up from a motorcycle.There is no air conditioning, no electric windows and no power steering, although buyers will be able spend more on those items in two deluxe models, the CX and LX.The Tata Corporation also intends launching a better-equipped, larger engined Nano in Europe.Tata is building a new plant in Gujarat in western India to build the car.It will produce between 250,000 and 500,000 Nanos a year.The Tata Corporation also owns Jaguar and Land Rover.It bought the British companies for $US2.3 billion last year.

But while there’s no sign of them on the Champs-Elysee just yet, it looks like they might soon be on the streets of Delhi.While it might sound like a lot of … erm, hot air … Indian manufacturer Tata Motors is getting set to release an air-powered car.The auto giant plans to have about 6000 of the MiniCAT – short for Mini Compressed Air Technology, as they’ve sexily christened it – on the streets over there by the middle of next year, with a retail price of around $8000.This should make it an attractive option for small commercial enterprises, and go some way to avoiding the kind of pollution problems that are growing in India and other emerging economies.The MiniCAT is said to have a range of 300km, and can be refuelled for just a couple of dollars because the fuel is needed only to run the compressor that fills the air tank in about four hours.The car has a superlight fibreglass body built on a tubular chassis – which somewhat scarily is held together by glue rather than anything as reassuring as metal welding. On the other hand, we spent several teenage years in the company of a station wagon that used increasing amounts of fencing wire as the primary structural element (and a large flat-bladed screwdriver jammed into the open transmission linkage to change gears), so perhaps glue can do the job just as efficiently.The drivetrain, if you can use that term for something that is more like a drivebellows, uses 300 litres of compressed air stored in carbon fibre tanks under the body.Essentially, outside air is pulled into the engine chamber and compressed to 290psi, by which time has a temperature of 400C. Compressed air from the tank is then injected, and being much colder expands quickly in the heated chamber, pushing the piston. The process is called a thermo dynamic cycle and admittedly there’s a bit more too it than our simple explanation, but this is not Mechanics Monthly and we don’t really care.The MiniCAT uses a continuously variable transmission that relies on belts rather than cogs – so no chance a screwdriver will get you out of trouble – and produces a, well, continuously variable set of gears.The Tata baby is the invention of an insane Frenchman (if that’s not a tautology) called Guy Negre, who was an engineer in Formula 1, where he became fascinated by the compressed air system used to start the race cars. And also designed a W12 engine – think two V6s jammed together – which only serves to reinforce the insanity tag.However, Negre is adamant that his car will be a solution for the increasingly crowded streets of India and any other countries where presumably people are looking for cars glued together from leftover lego and styrofoam, sitting on top of a highly pressurised balloon. 

India's $3000 Tata Nano will face a surprising new rival from Renault-Nissan.The European carmaker has just signed a joint-venture agreement with Indian motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto to build a mini-car codenamed the ULC (ultra-low-cost) to compete against the Nano.The car is expected to cost about $2500 when it goes on sale in India about 2011, and the plan is to export it to other markets. It is also expected to be sold through Renault and Nissan dealers.However, Renault-Nissan hasn't decided if the car will be sold with Nissan or Renault badges in some Western markets.Like the Nano, the ULC is aimed at the growing Indian market. It gave clues to the car's possible Euro-look at January's Delhi motor show when it unveiled its Lite concept car.Company spokesman S. Ravikumar says the Lite show car and ULC would merge into the final production car.“There is only one car project and the car the joint venture is going to launch is codenamed ULC,” he says. “There are not two cars or two projects.”Ravikumar says the Bajaj shown at the Delhi show was at the time referred to as the Lite.“Since then the third-party deal has been struck for the same business idea and all thoughts have now merged into the car codenamed ULC,” he says.The ULC will be built at a new plant in Chakan in India with initial planned capacity of 400,000 units a year.The joint-venture company will be 50 per cent-owned by Bajaj, Nissan and Renault holding 25 per cent each.Bajaj Auto has been selling scooters and motorcycles across India since 1948. Based in the western city of Pune, it is the second-biggest maker of motorcycles in India behind Hero Honda Motors Ltd.Bajaj Auto executives say the car will initially be available with a petrol engine, but a diesel is planned.As world fuel prices soar, other mature Western carmakers are looking at a new generation of low-cost, ultra fuel-efficient small cars.Chrysler has gone into partnership with Chery in China to build a low-cost car. Toyota, Volkswagen and even Hyundai are looking at low-cost cars in India. 

At least three new Jaguars are on the drawing board, in addition to the replacement for the XJ saloon.An edgy new coupe based on the coming XF sedan is an open secret. So is an XF station wagon.And British sources point to a four-door version of the current XK coupe to go up against the Mercedes CLS and the coming BMW CS and Porsche Panamera. As well, a smaller F-Type sports car would rival the Porsche Boxster and BMW's Z4.News of the coming Jaguars surfaced in the Financial Times. It says executives have produced plans for investment approval after the company is sold by Ford.David Blackhall, who heads Jaguar Australia, has hinted in the past that the crucial XF — which will be on sale here midyear — could be developed with extra body styles.Jaguar design boss Ian Callum says Tata has responded well to the company's design direction.“We have shown Tata our new model lines and the planned product cycle,” Callum says. “Tata is very respectful about what we are doing.”Callum also suggests the relationship with Ford has often been subject to tensions over design, revealing that the compact X-Type model based on the Ford Mondeo was actually designed in Detroit.It was forced on the team at Jaguar's design centre at Whitley, in Britain's industrial heartland.But he says Jaguar deserves some blame because it had not kept pace with its rivals.Models of the XF coupe are rumoured to have already been built at Whitley and are understood to share the bulk of their design with the XF sedan, though the coupe has a lower roofline.Ford chief executive Alan Mullaly told carsguide at the Detroit Motor Show last month that Tata is the final bidder for Jaguar and Land Rover. The deal is expected to be finalised next month, for an expected $2.5 billion. 

A recent report in London’s Financial Times said that Jaguar senior executives had already shown Tata at least three new model projects for investment consideration.They are believed to be a coupe version of the XF sedan, a four-door version of the XK coupe, and a two-seater sports car based on the F-Type concept, that would aim to challenge the Porsche Boxster and BMW Z4.Jaguar head of design, Ian Callum, is quoted in the Financial Times article as saying that Tata had responded well to the British house’s design direction.“We have shown Tata our new model lines and the planned product cycle,” Callum says. “The two national cultures appear to fit together very well and Tata is being very respectful about what we are doing.”He also suggests that the relationship with current owners Ford had often been subject to tensions over design, revealing that the X-Type was designed in Detroit and then forced on the team at Jaguar’s Whitley design centre new Coventry.However some of the blame could be attributed to Jaguar, which had failed to move on and keep pace with rivals, the article quotes Callum as saying.Models of the XF coupe are rumoured to have already been built at Whitley, and are understood to share the bulk of their design with the XF sedan, but have the lower roofline seen in the C-XF concept.Jaguar Australia managing director David Blackhall has previously hinted that the XF – which is seen as being crucial to the carmaker’s future — could be developed into several variants as variations on the themeThe Financial Times article did not explicitly confirm that Tata had signed off on acquiring Jaguar and Land Rover, but the purchase is expected to be formally announced by late this month, with the price estimated to be US$2 billion.However, the sale has been largely accepted as being a done deal for at least two months.

The Indian company in the front-line of bidding for British motoring icons Jaguar and Land Rover has launched India's “people's car”, a $2835 four-seater.With Ford's decision on the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover imminent, Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata has unveiled the budget hatch at the New Delhi Motor Show.Critics say while the Nano will bring motoring to India's masses, it may also clog the roads and create an environmental nightmare.The four-door car is basic. It has a high ground clearance for India's rough roads and its simple rear-drive, 24kW, 623cc, two-cylinder petrol engine under the rear seats powers it to a top speed of 105km/h and delivers 5.0 litres for 100km.It will be available in three models — Standard, Deluxe and Luxury — and will be sold in left and right-hand drive.The Standard is basic, with no radio, passenger-side mirror, wheel covers, central locking or airconditioning. Buyers wanting these luxuries must choose the Deluxe or Luxury models.Tata plans to add hybrid and diesel versions to the line-up.Despite being only 3100mm long, 1500mm wide and 1600mm high — significantly shorter and narrower than a Mini Cooper — the Nano meets Indian crash legislation, Tata claims, but it can be strengthened for other markets.It will be launched later this year and sold across India, and there are plans later to export it to developing countries.Tata expects to sell 100,000 Nanos a year initially. Company executives say the car will be pitched at budget buyers who now own motorcycles.Tata says he wants to give Indian families more mobility.“I see families riding on two-wheelers, the father driving, a kid standing in front, his wife seated behind holding a baby,” he says.“It led me to wonder whether we could design a safe, affordable, all-weather form of transport for such a family.”They could. It took four years.“Today we have a people's car that is affordable and yet built to meet safety requirements and emission norms, to be fuel-efficient and low on emissions,” he says. 

Senior executives at the British prestige brands have already been told they will be sold off to Tata, which has just produced the world's cheapest car — the Nano — with a sub-$3000 price tag.CEO of the Ford Motor Company, Alan Mulally, says Tata is the final player in the sell-off plan, which was hatched to give the Blue Oval brand much-needed cash to invest in its troubled North American operations.The move follows the successful sale of Aston Martin to a private consortium, although its likely that Ford will hang on to its Volvo brand in Sweden.“We are focused on Tata and I anticipate something in the first quarter,” Mulally says.But are there any other contenders in the sale?“We are focused on Tata right now,” he says. There is a gentle sense of irony in the timing of the latest announcement given that it was only last week that Tata launched India's 'people's car' — a $2835 four-seater — with great fanfare.With Ford's decision on the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover imminent, Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata unveiled the budget hatch at the New Delhi motor show.However, critics say although the Nano will bring motoring to the newly affluent Indian masses, it may also clog the sub-continent's roads and create an environmental nightmare.The cute four-door is very basic, has a high ground clearance for India's rough roads and a simple rear-drive 24kW 623cc two-cylinder petrol engine under the rear seats.This powers the car to a top speed of 105km/h while delivering 5.0L per 100km. Tata says it has plans to add hybrid and diesel versions.It will be available in three models, the Standard, Deluxe and Luxury and will be sold in left- and right-hand-drive.The Standard is basic, missing a radio, passenger side mirror, wheel covers, central locking and airconditioning. Buyers who want these luxuries must opt for the Nano Deluxe or Luxury. Despite being just 3100mm long, 1500mm wide and 1600mm high — significantly shorter and narrower than a Mini Cooper — Tata claims the Nano meets Indian crash legislation but can be strengthened for other markets that have tougher impact standards. 

 

India's “People's Car” has yet to be unveiled but some Indians are already raving about Tata Motors' new $2900 vehicle — despite environmentalists' fears. Environmentalists predict a plague of ever-cheaper cars and ever-swelling clouds of climate-changing fumes. Tata will unveil its 100,000-rupee car tomorrow. Selling for less than half the price of the current cheapest car in the market, it hopes it will tap into the growing ranks of India's middle class — rather like the Volkswagen Beetle did in Germany or the Mini in Britain. Several more-established middle- class consumers said it would make for an affordable second car. Tata Motors says a lot of the fears are unfounded. It says the car will meet emission standards and car sales are already growing fast without the help of the People's Car.   Considering the cheapness of Tata cars do you think it would have a promising future in Australia?  

Indian company Tata has unveiled plans to build a people's car that will cost $2800, while carmakers Renault and Nissan are seriously looking at a vehicle about $3500.