The world’s cheapest car, the Tata Group’s Nano that sells for $2,500 in India, may find its place in the U.S. garages at double the price when it is commercially launched here, but would still be lowest-priced car in America.
The cheapest vehicle in North America costs about $9,000-10,000 “so one could speculate that half of that - over $5,000 - is a possible price point” for the Nano in the U.S. and is still way cheaper than the lowest priced car, a Tata Technologies official said at the Detroit Science Centre here, where the car is on display for the US audience for the first time.
The official, who did not wish to be named since the decision on price would rest with Tata Motors, said the over $5,000 price range could also take into account all the necessary safety and emission requirements needed to ensure that Nano is fit for the U.S. roads.
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Tata Technologies, part of the Tata Group, has brought the ‘Champagne Gold Nano LX’ from Pune, India to Detroit for an event titled ‘Better Innovation’, which was attended by media and auto company officials.
It may be remembered that earlier this month at the New Delhi Auto Expo, Tata Group Chief Ratan Tata had said the firm will consider launching Nano in the U.S. in the next three years as there is a market for the car not only in developing countries but also in developed countries.
Emphasising that his company “was not in a position to comment on Tata Motors’ product strategy” and price specifics, Tata Technologies President and COO Warren Harris said the cost of the Nano in the U.S. “would obviously be more than the $2,500 that is the price in India.”
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“Obviously the structural changes that would need to be made, the changes required as far as emissions are concerned and some of the features that would be appropriate to add to the vehicle for the North American market would drive up the price point,” he said.
Harris said Nano’s price in the U.S. should be “fundamentally lower than any other vehicle in the country.
The previously most affordable car in India retailed at $5,000 and the Nano retails at half that price. “I suspect Ratan Tata is going to make a similar impact here,” he added.
If the Nano is to be retailed in the U.S., it has to have changes that comply with emission standards, besides making other adjustments in design and more features, Harris said.
On where the U.S. Nano could be manufactured, Harris said “all of that would have to be researched and be part of the decision making in and around the product entry in North America since Tata Motors today does not have a footprint in North America.”
He added that there is “no question that there is demand for a car like the Nano in the U.S.”