Tata’s dream car Nano to roll out in October

Singur, (West Bengal): Tata Motors Ltd will rollout its ultra-cheap Nano car on schedule by October, a top official said on Wednesday.

"We are maintaining the schedule of car launch in the second half of next fiscal," Managing Director Ravi Kant told reporters, after surveying the construction work at its new unit about 40 kilometers Kolkata.

Tata Motors unveiled Rs one-lakh car Nano, the world's cheapest car, in January and said the new four-seater would roll out later in the year from its West Bengal factory.

"Plant equipment will arrive shortly," he said.

Tata has said it will initially produce about 250,000 Nanos and expects eventual annual demand of one million units. The company's financial year runs from April to March.

According to a study by German research firm CSM World Wide, Tata Motors' Rs one lakh car 'Nano' will propel the company as the country's biggest light vehicle manufacturer by 2013.

Tata will sell about two lakh units more than Maruti Suzuki, which is the market leader in the low-cost, small car segment.

Tata Motors would roll out nearly 1.2 million light vehicles (LVs) per annum in the next five years, of which Nano alone would contribute more than 50 per cent.

"Nano will help Tata in increasing its stake in the segment as it is expected to sell more than six lakh units per annum by 2013," CSM World Wide CEO & President Craig Cather told PTI.

"Ultra low-cost vehicles like Nano will also help in bringing new buyers to the market," he added.

In the next five years, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai will be able to retain the top three position in the LV sales in the country at 12, 10 and four lakh units respectively, the study projected.