I don’t understand what emissions and safety standards would tack on an extra $5,500 dollars…I assume these arbitrary standards are just barriers of entery right?
Tata Nano (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)
DETROIT (AP) – The world’s cheapest car is being readied for sale in the U.S., but by the time India’s Tata Nano is retrofitted to meet emissions and safety standards, it won’t be that cheap.
Tata Technologies Ltd., the global engineering arm of the Tata group conglomerate, brought the tiny car to Detroit as a publicity stunt for the engineering group.
Tata officials, while maintaining that they couldn’t speak for Tata Motors, maker of the $2,500 Nano, said they were involved with the Nano from concept until it launched last July in Mumbai.
They wouldn’t say when the Nano might arrive in the U.S. or how much it might cost here, although Ratan Tata, chairman of the group of Tata companies, has said it should be ready for U.S. distribution in about three years.
Tata Motors already has made a European version of the four-seat car that will cost about $8,000 when it debuts in 2011, and a Tata Technologies official said privately that the U.S. version is expected to have a comparable price. The official did not want to be identified because the price has not been made public.
Warren Harris, Tata Technologies president, would only say that the price would be more than the roughly $2,500 charged in India.
Very simple reason: you cannot sell the Nano in either the US or Europe as is. I have limited knowledge of US legislation but in Europe it would qualify as a “quadricycle” and as such it would be impossible to use it on freeways and highways. Still $8000 is abut 5500€, about the same as the basic Dacia Sandero after a bit of haggling, but the Dacia can seat four adults, has a better engine etc. My bet is Tata is aiming squarely at the so called “toy car” sector, cars that are not very practical nor very sporty but are bought out of a whim and because they are fashionable. The Smart is the best example: completely unpractical, not very economical… and if it weren’t for the Italian market Mercedes would have shut down the assembly line back in 2001.
All in all I think Tata is doing this as a bit of self promotion: they’ve tried importing cheap pick up trucks to Europe but they have been beaten squarely by the Chinese. But I have to be honest though: these cheap vehicles you are so thrilled about aren’t so cheap at the end of the day and, boy, you get what you pay for.
prices are not set by labour values etc…you can charge w.e you want, if they feel they can sell just as much (higher purchasing power, alternatives are more expensive) they will charge more.