Tata Nano diesel in 2009

Talk about Tata Motors and it is natural you would end up with diesel in the rest of the sentence,such is the influence of diesel in its line-up.How could the Tata Nano have been left behind when it came to diesel engines.

Come 2009 and we would diesel engines on the Tata Nano.Interestingly these engines would be made in association with the same german manufacturer FEV with whom mahindra have a tie-up for the diesel scorpio.So although not immediately I am not ruling out a hybrid version of the Nano as well.

No mention has been made of an automatic transmission variant right now.Although official figures are not yet out interms of fuel efficiency expect this diesel to actually give a tough time for two-wheelers forget other cars.

The diesel engine for the Nano would be a two cylindered 800cc CRDi[common rail]diesel engine.As with all diesels expect a significant premium on the retail price compared to its petrol siblings.Inspite of this I expect this version to be the best seller and even cannibalise sales of the Indica range.Who knows the good old autorickshaw may well be replaced by the diesel version of the Nano.

[source:Tata Motors]

Lack of New Models Hurts Tata Motors badly

Hyundai motors has just overtaken Tata Motors to become the second largest passenger car manufacturer in India.

So what is ailing tata motors.You dont need to be an einstein to figure out what the problem is.Tata motor have not introduced new models in the market for a long time and the overuse of the indica platform is coming to haunt tata motors.

Tata has been using the present indica platform since the past ten years now and although the 2008 indica has come a long way since the first indica in 2008 there has been no drastic change for the past ten years to speak off.A Ten year shelflife is way too long for a car

Then there is the question of quality,Tata aren't renowed for their quality and they have done nothing to improve this perception.Niggles are part and parcel of a Tata car owner's even in this generation where nothing but zero defects is acceptable,perhaps Tata motors could learn a thing or two from TCS.

Lastly tata cars[leaving aside the safari] have all taken up the taxi tag and individual buyers think twice before buying a car from Tata Motors only because of the Taxi tag.

However Hyundai may not be able to hold on to this position for long though as in terms of sheer volume alone the Nano would help tata motors zoom past hyundai and even maruti suzuki.That said Tata motors does need to pull up its socks if it has to survive in this highly competitve industry where things are only going to get tougher.

Maruti 800 to compete with the Tata Nano

After a lot of yes and no,it is becoming clear that Maruti indeed is worried about the impact the Tata nano can have on Maruti Suzuki. In order to allay fears that Maruti would be caught on the wrong foot as and when the Nano comes on the roads,Maruti has displayed to bankers a stripped down version which in terms of pricing would be very close to the Tata Nano.

How Maruti have achieved this low pricing is unknown but an already stripped down car the Maruti 800 is said to have been further stripped down.The ex-showroom price of this model is around Rs.75,000 cheaper than existing model and should be available for a price tag of around Rs.1.2-1.5 lakhs ex-showroom pricing.

Now its pretty much established that the one lakh tag for nano cannot stay on for long and what should help Maruti would be the supply demand mismatch which Tata are bound to face.Also until 2010 atleast the Nano will have no rival other than the Maruti 800.

However I would really love to see what Maruti mean by a stripped down version of the Maruti 800.

[Source: Business Standard]

BBC's exclusive video of the Tata Nano in action

No Jeremy Clarkson was not in Pune nor were his partners from Top gear[though I am sure they would get their hands on the Nano too].This was jut a first look of the the Tata Nano by a BBC correspondent.Tata is represented by Girish Arun Wagh, head of Tata's Small Car Project.

Given the rising oil prices,the Nano could even play the role of the people's car in developed markets like UK even with its high fuel efficiency and lower emissions.Already people are seeing the benefit of smaller cars and it should not be difficult for Tata to tweak the Nano a bit to match the expectations of consumers in the developed markets.

Please do go through the video,you can see inspite of its tall boy design the Nano does a pretty good job at cornering.

Heres the Link:
Tata Nano in Action

This is pretty much the first video I can remember which features the Tata Nano in action and it a pity no Indian television channel thought on the lines of BBC.

Maruti to launch the Maruti 800 duo soon

Maruti's dual fueled car the wagon R has been an extremely popular choice amid rising fuel prices and the overall cost-effectiveness of automotive LPG as compared to petrol.Maruti are technically unable to accommodate diesel engines in their smaller cars leaving aside the swift and hence they have no choice but at looking at other alternatives like CNG and LPG to combat the high fuel prices.[CNG being not as widely available as LPG ]

Also the Maruti 800 being in the market for well over 20 years and customers having higher aspirations has meant sales have fallen down drastically and maruti needed to take some corrective steps to improve sales especially with the expected arrival of the Tata NANO which is supposedly more fuel efficient than the Maruti 800.

The LPG variant of the maruti 800 will also be called duo[maruti 800 duo].The car is going to be launched some time next week with a price tag of about Rs.20,000 more than the petrol only version.The kits would be factory fitted and as with LPG vehicles nowadays switching between the two fuels should be a breeze and the driver would not experience a drastic loss in power.

But would this move be enough to rekindle interest in the good old Maruti 800,doubtful.

[source:Economic times]

Tata Nano bookings to start this July

Though Tata motors faces one obstacle after the other in its endeavor to launch the Nano,Tata has announced that things are very much on track and that the vehicle would be out on the roads by Durga Puja in October,2008.

Booking for the tata nano would start as early as July 2008.

Now I have already hinted that it may just not be possible for Tata Motors to maintain that one lakh tag for long with rising input prices.So you are bettter off booking the vehicle as soon as the dealer gives the green signal.Tata are targetting an annual prioduction of 3 lakh units.

Tata Motors is meanwhile trying its level best to maintain that one lakh tag by setting up a special team just to look at ways to reduce costs.Also Tata would be manufacturing the Nano from multiple locations as of now the locations are pune,pantnagar and singur perhaps we may see a few more depending on demand.Tata is also asking one of its suppliers Autoliv IFB India Ltd to manufacture the cheapest airbags in the world at about $10.As far as its headlights go,Tata motors has asked koito to design headlamps for the nano using half the parts that it uses while manufacturing headlamps for its other clients.And finally Tata is also looking at taking advantage of the Tata family by using steel and fibre tubes that would be used in the Nano’s engine cradle from Tata Steel[jamshedpur] itself.

However inspite of all these efforts its really mission impossible for Tata Motors and it is one hell of a challenge for Tata Motors to maintain the one lakh tag for long.

[source:Telegraph,economictimes]

Tata Nano: One lakh price Tag not for Long

A promise is a promise remember Ratan Tata's words at the Auto expo 2008 during the Tata Nano launch.Keeping in line with this the Tata Nano may very well be launched with a factory price of one lakh but for a very short period.So anybody who does want to benefit of the price tag may have to pull a string or two to get the car during that period with the introductory pricing.

Why do I say so.Rising steel prices have meant suppliers to Tata are no longer able to keep their costs down to initial estimates.Remember steel is a major component of the car[about 15-20%].Although Tata has set up a special team to keep prices in check there is only so much that they can do.

Almost all suppliers[including the likes of Sona Koya and Minda] are pressurizing Tata to increase prices.Already margins expected from the Nano are very low and if prices of raw materials continue the same trend then Tata would actually be paying us to buy the car if prices are not increased.Something which is very unlikely,Tata too are a business house.Making the cheapest car in the world is philanthropy enough.Tata shall not make much money from selling the car in markets like.it is betting on the more developed markets where it may play the environment card as well by targeting the 100mpg figure and perhaps even use non-conventional fuels to power the Nano there.

Very unlikely that other manufacturers could match or better the price tag of the Nano and the Nano will remain the cheapest car available but the one lakh price tag now looks impossible even for Tata.

[Source:Business Standard]

Tata motors plant rolls out first Tata Nano

The first Tata nano has rolled out from a Tata Motors plant in Uttarakhand and not singur as expected.

But don't just rush to the Tata dealer yet.These cars will not be for sale but are test vehicles for Tata.Tata will now use these vehicles for extensive testing to see that the vehicle is able to meet the harsh conditions that the Nano would have to face,after all this vehicle is expected to cater to the most diverse segment of consumers.

Tata also want to make sure that the Nano does not become a laughing stock when it is launched.However like the Indica launch before I expect the initial batch to have its niggles and expect better quality from the Nano v2 onwards.The indica experience would however ensure that Tata are in a better position now.

As for singur the first test vehicle s would be launched from that plant from june/july.

[Source:Sify]

Ajanta wants to tick off Nano customers

Clock maker Ajanta is looking at spoiling the party for tata's nano by bringing out an even lower priced car[approx rs.85,000].

What would also add to tata's problems would be that the car would not consume any petrol and solely run on battery power[electric vehicle like the reva/g-wiz].

They are already into the manufacture of such kind of two wheelers and would have to scale up a bit for the four wheelers making them very competitive in terms of cost.However nothing concrete has developed yet and everything is in the planning stage only with the R&D team looking at the viability of such a project.

Ajanta are hoping everything will work out with clock like precision.

[Source:Times of India]

Tata motors to manufacture Indica and Nano in Thailand

Tata Motors is going places.Its not only the Jaguar and Landrover brands which are expected to spread the word about Tata.Tata Motors will also use its own vehicles to establish Brand Tata Motors throughout the world.

After the Tata Xenon pickup,Tata motors is now all set to manufacture the indica ,possibly the nano and the next generation indica[lets call it the indica v3] in the thai market.The thai government is encouraging manufacturers in Thailand to set up plants for manufacturing cars which have engines less than 1.4L and 4 out of five components of the engine should be manufactured in thailand.Further the manufacturer has to sell 1 lakh of these "eco" cars in five years time.

Tata's are aready used to these specifications in India ,what changes is the E20 specification which should not be a major challenge to achieve for Tata.This incentive can help Tata penetrate into the other south east asian markets too and improve the image of the company in the eyes of the environmentalists.

Also read:
Tata unveil third generation Indica[v3]

Tata Motors Nano inspires Toyota

Look who has taken inspiration from the Tata Nano,its Toyota the global automobile giant.They are trying to reduce production costs of their vehicles by "lumping" some of the tens of thousands of car components together to form modules and systems. Analysts have been keen to see the fruits of the scheme for hints to its impact on the car's price, features and eventually the competitiveness of parts suppliers.When Tata did this with the Nano it was called a safety threat when Toyota does it its called Value Innovation[VI].

Toyota have gone ahead with this cost cutting on not their cheap hatches but the Toyota Crown,which is the first car to implement VI. The new Crown combined some electronic control units (ECUs), or mini-computers that control everything from power steering to windshield wipers, with components called actuators to create a simpler module and drive down costs[Now did we not hear this before with the Tata Nano].
Toyota was able to reduce the number of main ECUs to four from 60, as it had set out to do.The VI plan will be built into each new model that Toyota rolls out going forward, and Watanabe has said he expects it to help the company achieve annual savings of at least 300 billion yen ($2.8 billion) from the business year starting in April.

That said I like this move from toyota since their newer generation vehicles just kept on getting pricier and was reaching a point where rivals[especially korean manufacturers] looked a far better bet.

[Source:Guardian UK]

Small car hub alright but what about the infrastructure?

The Indian government is having its way alright and pretty soon we are going to be the hub for small cars with almost every manufacturer making it clear they would be manufacturing cheap hatches here.Some of these even below the 2 lakh price tag.

Even before one such car the Tata Nano is on the roads we have second hand car prices plunging rapidly so much so that in a few years time it would be much more feasible to scrap your old car than looking for a buyer or keeping it.But such a concept seems to be alien in our country.Our country needs a proper guideline as to what we should do with our old cars.

Another neglected area is parking,nothing really is being done to find a solution for the parking woes in our cities.Then comes the Traffic discipline and implementation of rules,more than half of the mess we find on our roads can easily be avoided and the consequences are an ever increasing road accident list apart from the never ending traffic jams even with broad roads and Flyovers.The less we talk about the highway traffic discipline the better.First aid and care for an accident victim is still the stuff of dreams.Our driving test have been left as nothing but a joke.Drunk driving ,speeding,lane cutting,jumping signals,talking on the Mobile/cellphone while driving are all fashionable things to do.

These are just some of the problems from a seemingly endless list about the woes of an Indian driver hopefully the government now looks at these rather than wait for things to go completely out of hand.

Maruti Suzukis replacement for the Maruti 800

Right from the onset ,Tata have made it quite clear that they plan to take on the Maruti 800.So whether it was internal space or mileage it was the Maruti 800 which was on the radar.Even efore the Nano has actually hit the roads the 800 sales are dwindling so it would have been impossible for it to compete with the Nano.

So maruti now are talking about a replacement for the Maruti 800 which would be more oriented towards design,features and quality than actually using price as its USP.According o Sify this new car is code named "YR9" and has a tall boy design[increasing interior space].It is being speculated that this car would have a 660cc engine and Maruti engineers are attempting to better the 20kmpl figure of the Tata Nano.This car would be more expensive than the Nano but may just be a bit cheaper than the present 800 although pricing details not yet known.

Now if you ask me what I think of this strategy,I say brilliant.It is getting too crowded at the bottom of the car buyers pyramid in India and really volume expectations from the manufacturers for this segment is a bit too unrealistic.They are assuming that all of India is going to buy from the A segment of cars.So we will have Tata,Maruti,Bajaj-Renault,Possibly GM with a chinese tie-up but is there actually such a huge market in this segment.Moreover this segment means customers may associate the manufacturer with the mass market tag and not like to associate themselves with the higher end cars from the same manufacturer.Volumes are good but in the end its the Margins that matter after all why did VW move from the People's car manufacturer tag to now a literally Luxury car manufacturer.

Nano Bashing

Heres something I picked up from a Pakistan based newspaper[The News],The article is by an Indian environmentalist and credits the One lakh car more to the Indian and west bengal government subsidies.:

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The euphoric welcome[for the car] fails to understand that in a poor and frugal society like India's, cars cannot democratise. They polarise, not unite, society.

Even the most attractive, iconic, feature of the car--the Rs100,000 price--is probably an illusion. The price tag contains subsidies, in the first place. The Tata Motors plant coming in West Bengal, which will produce the Nano, is subsidised to the extent of Rs8.5 billion by the Left Front government, according to economist and former finance minister Ashok Mitra. This works out to one-fourth of the project's capital cost.

The Indian government has spent about Rs1.5 billion to buy 997 acres of land, but given it to the Tatas almost free. It's also advancing them a Rs20-billion loan at 1 percent interest and granting an exemption from the value-added tax for 10 years, amounting to Rs5 billion.

To further "sweeten" the deal, the state government has gifted to the Tatas 50 acres of prime land just outside Kolkata and another 200 acres in the Bhangar-Rajarhat Area Development Authority to build IT and residential townships.

The total subsidy may thus turn out to be considerably higher. Besides, that superlatively attractive price is only applicable to the bare-bones model as an introductory offer. Nevertheless, the Nano will probably remain the world's cheapest car for some time because its cost has been ruthlessly pared down. The upside of this is unconventional thinking focused on minimalism, which may trigger cost-cutting within the automobile industry.

The downside is the cutting of corners to produce a car with low longevity and high maintenance, which fails the current Western emission and safety standards, and will soon ail Indian norms too. This approach differs from dispensing with luxuries or add-ons, as in having a trunk with space for only a briefcase. For instance, the Nano's designers used a hollow shaft instead of a solid beam to connect the steering-wheel to the axle, and plastics and adhesives instead of many bolts. The car's low-performance wheel bearings will wear out rapidly beyond 70 kph.

It has only one windshield-wiper instead of two. It uses continuous variable transmission, with low acceleration. To save a mere ten dollars, devices called actuators, which adjust the angle of the car's lights to its load, were eliminated. This is likely to affect the car's safety, sturdiness and durability/longevity.

The Nano fails current western emission standards like Euro-IV, and will soon fail Indian standards too. Tata's claim that the Nano meets India's national emission standards hasn't been verified by an independent competent agency. Euro-IV norms will enter force in India's major cities in April 2010 and are much stricter than Bharat-II or III, India's own emission standards.

Similarly, long-overdue safety standards are on their way. These include full-body crash tests--which determine how cars crumple in collisions--airbags and ABS. Implementing them will raise the Nano's costs by 40 to 50 percent.

According to pollution experts, ultra-cheap bare-bones cars like the Nano lack the complex technology needed to maintain initial level of emissions, and could soon produce four to five times more.

The Nano will set a trend under which industry will rush to produce ultra-cheap cars by exploiting India's poor emission standards. Bajaj Auto, Volkswagen, Nissan and GM are already in this race. The addition of stripped-down cars will further slow down urban traffic--whose speed has almost halved recently. This will greatly increase pollution, which has reached critical levels in three-fifths of India's cities and is creating havoc.

Yet, India is following a policy under which a car can legally occupy the same space as a slum-dwelling family considered fit for eviction. This must radically change, so that public transport is given top priority and people can be moved in safe, efficient and environmentally sound ways and have equitable and affordable access to public transport.

The Nano should provoke us all to rethink transportation policies in keeping with the requirements of equity and reversing climate change.

Source:
The News Pakistan

The writer did not even bother to do his homework regarding the Euro 4 compliance of the Tata Nano.

Another bit I found funny:
To save a mere ten dollars, devices called actuators, which adjust the angle of the car's lights to its load, were eliminated. This is likely to affect the car's safety, sturdiness and durability/longevity.

The Tata Nano- the Dream to Empower a Billion is here Finally

The Tata Nano is here and the first thing that comes to mind while looking at the car is the Maruti Suzuki Estilo a car which retails for much more than double the retail value of the Nano.So is that a good thing ,for starters I know of quite a lot of the women folk who are impressed with the Estilo styling and so the nano should also get the Cute car tag.This car looks ideal for the city but using it on the highways does not seem to be a very good idea.

But all said and done a commendable job from Tata and all its suppliers Bosch included on the rabbit that they have pulled out from the Hat.This car is all set to revolutionize the automobile industry in India once more.

The base model of the would be available for the dealer with a price tag of Rs. 1 lakh which means on the road the price tag for an individual would be approximately Rs. 1.25 lakhs.This model is the stripped down version.There are to other versions ,one of which would come with air-conditioning but expect a price tag of close to 2 lakhs for that.So also for the diesel cars to be launched later,those also would be priced closer to the 2 lakh mark.

The car comes with a centrally located instrument cluster[image from rediff.com]:



The Detailed press release from Tata Motors.

Mr. Ratan N. Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group and Tata Motors, today unveiled the Tata ‘NANO’, the People’s Car from Tata Motors that India and the world have been looking forward to. A development, which signifies a first for the global automobile industry, the People’s Car brings the comfort and safety of a car within the reach of thousands of families. The People’s Car will be launched in India later in 2008.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi, Mr. Ratan N. Tata said, “I observed families riding on two-wheelers – the father driving the scooter, his young kid standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him holding a little baby. It led me to wonder whether one could conceive of a safe, affordable, all-weather form of transport for such a family. Tata Motors’ engineers and designers gave their all for about four years to realise this goal. Today, we indeed have a People’s Car, which is affordable and yet built to meet safety requirements and emission norms, to be fuel efficient and low on emissions. We are happy to present the People’s Car to India and we hope it brings the joy, pride and utility of owning a car to many families who need personal mobility.”

Stylish, comfortable
The People’s Car, designed with a family in mind, has a roomy passenger compartment with generous leg space and head room. It can comfortably seat four persons. Four doors with high seating position make ingress and egress easy.

Yet with a length of 3.1 metres, width of 1.5 metres and height of 1.6 metres, with adequate ground clearance, it can effortlessly manoeuvre on busy roads in cities as well as in rural areas. Its mono-volume design, with wheels at the corners and the powertrain at the rear, enables it to uniquely combine both space and manoeuvrability, which will set a new benchmark among small cars.

When launched, the car will be available in both standard and deluxe versions. Both versions[three versions announced at Auto Expo] will offer a wide range of body colours[Yellow,Red and Silver announced so far], and other accessories so that the car can be customised to an individual’s preferences.

Fuel-efficient engine
The People’s Car has a rear-wheel drive, all-aluminium, two-cylinder, 623 cc, 33 PS, multi point fuel injection petrol engine. This is the first time that a two-cylinder gasoline engine is being used in a car with single balancer shaft. The lean design strategy has helped minimise weight, which helps maximise performance per unit of energy consumed and delivers high fuel efficiency. Performance is controlled by a specially designed electronic engine management system.


Meets all safety requirements
The People’s Car’s safety performance exceeds current regulatory requirements. With an all sheet-metal body, it has a strong passenger compartment, with safety features such as crumple zones, intrusion-resistant doors, seat belts, strong seats and anchorages, and the rear tailgate glass bonded to the body. Tubeless tyres further enhance safety.

Environment-friendly
The People’s Car’s tailpipe emission performance exceeds regulatory requirements. In terms of overall pollutants, it has a lower pollution level than two-wheelers being manufactured in India today. The high fuel efficiency also ensures that the car has low carbon dioxide emissions, thereby providing the twin benefits of an affordable transportation solution with a low carbon footprint.

For more information: www.tatapeoplescar.com

Tata's one lakh car to compensate for lack of hardware with Intelligent Software

When you decide to make the cheapest car in the world you obviously have to be extremely frugal with the baggage,Bosch with their Value Motronic engine management program just intend to do that.With this system the car can do without a number of sensors,injectors and other hardware instead depending on the software instead for its functioning.

As a computer guy I would be happy and as far as computers are concerned software is prone to less wear and tear than hardware[less maintainance] but I am not sure if this is the way as far as cars are concerned.[You would have to call in a computer engineer rather than a mechanic to repair your car,ok that was a joke]

As far as the engine is concerned that too is expected from the Bosch stables.

Source:
Paultan.org

Spy Photographer beaten up and Equipment Destroyed by Tata Motors

A Zee news employee who was trying to click spy photographs of the soon to be revealed One lakh Car from Tata was beaten up and his equipment destroyed by employees from Tata Motors.What was not clear whether this happened on the road or on private property.Though Spy photography is yet to take off in a big way in India like the west ,it is already giving a headache to the manufacturers.Already most of the manufacturers plans are leaked on the internet well in advance.Pune does offer spy photographers a good opportunity most manufacturers having to come to the ARAI for homologation and other such formalities needed for a vehicle before it can be sold on Indian roads.Also with Tata,Fiat,Mahindra,VW family and GM[expected soon] here,makes this an ideal hunting ground for spy photographers.

Spy pics like that of the Suzuki swift sedan[dezire] which appeared recently in a magazine and several other sites could be challenged by the company but are they right in stopping someone from photographing a vehicle on the road.There seems to be no clear law as of now and hence incidents like this would continue in future as well.Infact things could even get nasty.In order to avoid such a situation I hope something is done as soon as possible by the authorities concerned in atleast making the law clear to the people.

For the moment atleast since there is no law stopping the photographer from clicking a picture on public roads hope Tata Motors is forced to compensate the photographer whereas if the photographer obtained it from inside the Tata Motors factory then Zee should offer compensation to Tata Motors.

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