Tata Nano, the $2000 Indian ‘People’s Car', Finds Factory a New Home in Gujarat
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 10. 8.08
photo: Anugrah Adams
Just a quick update on the battle of the proposed and protested Tata Nano manufacturing facility in West Bengal, India. In the past month construction on the site was halted by Tata due to protests by local farmers who claimed that the land for the factory was expropriated from them without proper compensation. Latter in September, the government of West Bengal made some concessions to the protesters, giving some land back to them from both inside the project area of from land the government held outside of the proposed site. This halted the protests, but Tata still reserved the right to move the manufacturing of the Nano to another state in India.
Tata has come to a conclusion on a new location for building the Rs100,000 ($2,050) ‘people’s car’. And the lucky winner is...the western Indian state of Gujarat. Read on for more:
Sanand, Gujarat Chosen
After looking at sites in several other states, Tata had this to say about choosing the new site:
The company has concluded that the site at Sanand and the offer from the Gujarat government is in the best interest of the project.While awaiting the Sanand plant’s completion, Tata Motors will explore the possibility of manufacturing the Nano at its existing facilities at Pune and Pantnagar, and launch the car in the last quarter of the financial year. (BBC)
250,000 Cars to be Built in First Year
The new manufacturing facility will be built on 1,100 acres supplied by the government of Gujarat and will initially make 250,000 Nanos a year, a figure rising to 500,000 in coming years.
via :: BBC News and :: Cleantech
Tata Motors Nano
Farmers Win Land Back from Tata Nano Factory Site
Tata Nano Factory Construction Suspended Indefinitely Due to Protests
The Tata Nano Unveiled
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I am from India, but have lived in the United States since I was four. I did visit there a few years ago and was astonished at the overcrowding there (even in smaller cities and towns). India definitely does not need another 500,000 cars overcrowding the already heavily congested streets and highways of India. Rather, they (Tata) need to throw more money into research and development for public transit systems, like busing, light rail, etc.
That's $2500.
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MM: As far as I'm aware the price in Rupees is still Rs100,000 which at today's exchange rate is $2052.
I think that this has to be one of the smallest cars I have ever seen. I love it!!
@ Ken Clive
I think your comments about the need for public transit systems fair and laudable, however, that's the responsibility of government. Tata after all IS a car manufacturer. I don't think it would be fair to say to you or I to quit our careers and learn another because it isn't quite as green as someone else thinks it should be.
Personal transport is coming to India and China whether the West likes it or not. And I write that as an American of european descent.
@ Ken Clive.
Is Tata India's government ?
Because Public transport infrastructure development is Governments job.
BTW Tata has not only spent on Public Transit R&D, they _are_ the market leader, in-fact this contributes more to their revenue than cars.
Mr Clive, going by your name it is hard for me to digest that you are from India, probably some chauvinistic western armchair environmentalist.
Indians don't need to prove their good record on environment conservation, but at they same time India has to face and tackle its biggest issue.
Poverty. And anything that contributes in fueling India's economy is good. Nano with its small size, price and diet is very much appropriate for such times.
Not just for Indians but for others too.
@Anmol Chaturvedi:
No I am actually Indian, however, my family is Christian, if that offends you in any way. I have actually been there and seen the bad traffic situation that this little car will only make worse. The Nano may contribute to India's economy in the short term and create some short term jobs, but by the time oil gets too expensive in a few years, who's going to buy a Nano?
Yes, I realize that public transportation development is the government's job, but it is up to engineers at private firms to improve or come up with new transit technology that can benefit the citizens.
The Nano may help in the short term, but this is a car that will create a lot of hype for some time and then fizzle out quickly. It will hurt more than help because it will enable the majority of the Indian middle class to migrate away from the city and live in newer suburbs, thus creating the inner city mess that we have in the US today.