The Tata Group multinational conglomerate based in India. Tata Group is the largest private corporate group in India and has interests in steel, automobiles, information technology, communication, power, tea and hotels. This is the company that purchased Jaguar and Land Rover in2007 from the Ford Motor Company.
The Tata Group have unveiled a $2500 USD car billed as the world's cheapest. This is a ground breaking event similar to the introduction of the Model T in the U.S. The Model T launched the automobile revolution in the United States and the world. It put more people in cars....the assembly line originated by Ford is now the world standard for car assembly.
"The launch of the Tata Nano was a landmark in the history of transportation, like the first powered flight by the Wright brothers or the first lunar landing", said 70-year-old tycoon Ratan Tata, head of the Tata Group.
The Tata Nano is a rear engine four passenger car initially aimed at the Indian market. But, Tata anticipates exporting the car to the rest of the world by 2011. It will have to be modified to meet the safety requirements in Europe and the U.S. Pricing to reflect the safety and emissions requirements will increase the cost.
The car gets great gas mileage at 78 mpg on the highway and about 92 in the city. The sales of the car will begin in July 2009, with a starting price of Rs 115,000 $2500 USD, cheaper than any other car in the world. "
My take is what we are seeing is the automobile landscape changing substantially. The advent of China and India will make a big splash onto the automobile landscape. I am of the opinion that at this price Tata will sell millions of them.
