On July 17, in Mumbai, India, one of the first owners to receive their car keys drove a Nano microcar out of the showroom, officially hitting the road. On that day, India’s Tata Motors delivered Nano cars to the first three customers, hoping that this world’s lowest-priced sedan can enter thousands of households and become India’s “national car.” The basic Nano car is priced at only about two thousand dollars. Tata Motors officially launched the Nano to the market and accepted orders in March this year, receiving a total of more than 200,000 orders. (Xinhua/Reuters)
India’s Tata Motors delivered Nano microcars to the first three customers on the 17th, hoping that this world’s lowest-priced sedan can enter thousands of households and become India’s “national car.”
The First Owner
Tata Motors has launched three versions of the Nano: Basic, Comfort, and Luxury. The Basic version is priced at approximately 100,000 rupees (about $2,100), but you get what you pay for—this version lacks air conditioning, power windows, and power steering. The Luxury version is slightly more expensive, priced at about 180,000 rupees ($3,780).
The Nano features a 0.62-liter engine, rear-wheel drive, four doors, and five seats.
Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Motors, handed the keys to the first owner, Ashok Raghunath Vichare, at a delivery ceremony held in Mumbai on the 17th. The 59-year-old customs official ordered a Lunar Silver Luxury Nano.
Tata Motors announced the Nano car plan in January last year, positioning it as a “national car,” hoping it could upgrade the transportation of ordinary Indians from motorcycles or electric vehicles to safer and more comfortable four-wheeled vehicles.
“I witnessed a scene of a family of four crowded onto a two-wheeler: the father riding, a young child standing in front, and his wife sitting behind him, holding an infant in her arms,” Ratan Tata explained at the time regarding the origin of his idea for the Nano.
At the delivery ceremony that day, he said: “I hope the Nano can bring the joy of driving to those buying a car for the first time, or to those who already have a car but want a modern, environmentally friendly city vehicle.”
However, the concept of this low-cost car has also faced skepticism and criticism, with some arguing that their mass appearance on the streets will exacerbate India’s already severe traffic congestion and further contribute to environmental pollution. Tata Motors countered that the Nano will be the least polluting car in India.
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