Tata shooting for 80,000 Nanos by March of 2010, diesel in 2011

 
The troubles that Tata Motors has had in getting its Nano microcar off the ground have been well documented. After a series of protests turned violent over a land dispute between local farmers in West Bengal and the Indian automaker,, production was moved to Tata's Pantnagar facility. Despite the massive setback (Tata had almost completed construction of the main plant before moving), the Indian automaker reportedly believes that it can assemble 80,000 Nanos by March of 2010. By that time, a second plant in Sanand should be ready to go, and that would quickly become the main facility for the inexpensive car (though Pantnagar would still supplement the larger operation).
What's next for the ongoing saga that is The World's Cheapest Car? By the end of 2011, the Nano's will get a diesel engine option in addition to the standard 33-horsepower 625 cc twin-cylinder gas unit that will be powering all Nanos at launch. Also on the future menu will be such sybaritic options as air conditioning and an automatic gearbox.
[ Via: Indian Autos Blog ]
[ Tag: Pantnagar, tata, tata motors, tata nano, tata nano diesel, TataMotors, TataNano, TataNanoDiesel ]

Tata Indica celebrates decade of sales with special edition

This cute little guy is the Tata Indica Vista, a special edition created to celebrate ten years of Indica sales. The Indica has perennially been one of India's best selling cars, as well as being Tata's prime mover. Given credit for greatly lifting the fortunes of the company, the Indica walks off with 78% of sales among the cars built on its platform (like the Indigo and Marina).
With design elements that might be generously taken from Ford's European design language, the Vista's changes from the regular Indica are all cosmetic. It will get a specially designed number plate, an interior with better materials and design, an integrated audio system and double-stitched seats. It will come in a selection of colors and a variety of wheel options, and if you're keen on the Vista, you can even read a review. For the rest of you, the full press release is after the jump. Let's hope Tata can create the same magic with Jaguar and Land Rover after ten years of ownership.

[ Via: Indian Autos Blog ]
[ Tag: hatchback, india, indica, indica vista, IndicaVista, special edition, SpecialEdition, tata, tata indica, tata indica vista, TataIndica, TataIndicaVista ]

CAR drives Tata Nano, goes 60 mph in 17 seconds

The Tata Nano's claim to fame is its budget $2,500 price tag. You'd have trouble picking up a 1995 Honda Civic with 140,000 miles on it for that price. But what do you get for the price of a lawn tractor? How about a 624cc 33-hp motor mated to a four-speed manual transmission, for starters. That potent combo will propel any lucky Nano driver from 0-60 in 17 seconds. Add some groceries and a passenger (or a slight uphill grade) and we're guessing you'll never see 60 mph in any time frame.
CAR Magazine in the UK recently became one of the first publications in the world to drive the Nano and did mention that it has a compliant ride, which is quite a feat considering the MSRP. The Nano also has options like a radio and air conditioning, but if you ever want to go faster than 50, we'd advise you skip the freon. Tata is looking to remedy this "performance" problems with a more powerful gasoline powerplant mated to a five-speed automatic, but for now the Nano will only manage to hit 60 in the time it takes to heat up a hot dog in your 1,200-watt microwave. That 13-year-old Honda is starting to sound pretty good right about now.
[ Via: eGMCarTech ]
[ Tag: 0-60 17 seconds, 0-6017Seconds, 2500 car, 2500Car, tata nano, TataNano ]

Production of Tata Nano could be delayed due to land dispute

Indian carmaker Tata chose a site in Singur, India for the plant that would make the Nano, the world's cheapest car. Not long afterward, eleven petitions were filed in the Calcutta High Court stating that the purchase of the land for the factory violated the Land Acquisition Act of 1894. It was alleged that the government of Bengal forcibly took "fertile multi-crop agricultural land" from farmers for industrial use, which isn't allowed.
Earlier this year, the Calcutta High Court found in favor of the government of West Bengal (where Singur is) and Tata. Now another petition has been filed with India's Supreme Court over the issue, and the Supreme Court has asked the West Bengal government and Tata to respond.
The issue for the moment is that the Nano is supposed to go on sale in October -- but the next hearing over the land use petition won't be held until July. Some suppose a revised land deal might drive up the price of the car. Regardless, if Tata doesn't work out a production alternative, Tata won't get the head start it was hoping for on what could be a huge market.

[ Via: Detroit News ]
[ Tag: dispute,disputes,india,nano factory,NanoFactory,tata,tata motors,tata nano,TataMotors,TataNano ]

Tata wants supplier to develop $10 airbags for the Nano

It's nothing new to have automakers pushing suppliers to cut their component costs. For the past decade and a half, many companies have demanded suppliers provide price reductions of 3 to 5 percent a year, every year, with varying degrees of success. India's Tata Motors is taking these efforts to a whole new level. In order for Tata to build a new car with a retail price of only $2,500 they need component prices an order of magnitude cheaper than other cars. One example is airbags. While Tata wants the Nano to be a very basic car, it wants it to still meet safety standards. The problem is that frontal airbags cost about $150 each. At that level, a pair of airbags would account for more than 10 percent of the cost of the car, clearly a non-starter. As a result, Tata has asked occupant safety systems supplier Autoliv to develop airbags that cost only $10 each. How or if Autoliv will get down to that price point remains unclear. It seems that features like two-stage airbags and systems that detect the presence of a passenger to disable the bag if there is no one there will have to be left out. In any case, it'll be interesting to see if Autoliv and Tata can pull this one off.
[ Via: The Earth Times ]
[ Tag: reduced parts cost,ReducedPartsCost,tata,tata motors,tata nano,tata-motors,TataMotors,TataNano ]