Tata to Exploit U.S. Recession with Cheapo Nano

India’s Tata Group, yeah the same bozos who went and purchased the Jaguar and Land Rover, now plan to bring their cheap Nano car to American shores.

Nano, or the People’s Car, which launched in India on Monday, is scheduled to hit the U.S. in 2011 or 2012, according to the Financial Times.

The American auto industry is already on life support and the Nano is the last thing Detroit needs. Michigan will soon start looking like Africa or India.


Cheapo Nano:
Coming to America

(Photo: Tata Motors)

Here’s an excerpt from the FT story on the Nano launch:

Ratan Tata, head of the Tata group, said that tough times in the world’s largest car market had convinced the group to start designing a version of the Nano for possible export to the US as early as 2011 or 2012.

Mr Tata said he had once viewed the US, with its exacting consumers and obsession with large cars, as unsuitable for the diminutive Nano. However, he said: “In this economic situation, we see perhaps there is a place [for the Nano in the US].”

Prices for the Nano start at Rs 100,000 in India ($1,974) with deliveries expected to start in July 2009.

Equipped with a 2-cylinder engine, the Nano has a maximum speed of 65 miles per hour.

Nano is currently being manufactured at Tata’s Pantnagar plant in Uttarakhand in limited numbers. The new plant at Sanand (in Gujarat state) will be ready in 2010 and have an annual capacity of 350,000 cars.

Related Stories:
Does $2,500 Tata Nano Doom GM & Ford in India?
God, We Hope Mamta Screws Tata Nano
Tata’s $2.3b Folly – Buying Jaguar, Land Rover
Tatas are Nuts to Bid for Fading Jaguar & Land Rover

4 Responses to "Tata to Exploit U.S. Recession with Cheapo Nano"

  1. SRINIVAS   March 25, 2009 at 2:27 am

    By 2010 / 2011 – Recession should end – considering that OBAMA has been elected ???

    Tata has to do it now ..if he wants to take advantage of recession …one to two yrs is a long period ….

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    You write above: By 2010 / 2011 – Recession should end – considering that OBAMA has been elected ???

    We doubt it will end in 2010 or 2011. There’s an inventory of about 4 million unsold existing houses on the market (about 11 months). Plus if you include the latent inventory of existing homes and inventory of new homes, the total inventory could be 14 or 15 months. Plus builders continue to build homes.

    It’s going to take years to bring down this inventory. And until this housing crisis is solved, we don’t see much possibility of a recovery.

    To make matters worse, every day in America people are abandoning their homes because the houses are worth less than what they owe on their mortgage, they lost their jobs and so can’t afford it et al.

    This recession is too severe. Nothing like the brief slowdown we had after the dot com bubble burst in 2000.

    Sometimes we doubt that things can even be fixed because things have gotten so bad here.

  2. aditya_k   March 25, 2009 at 4:26 am

    well….atleast one of our politicians has done what you hoped she would do…..but at a terrible price(click into the car shaped text at the top to read)-
    http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090324/jsp/frontpage/story_10715542.jsp

    they say Singur could have become the Jamshedpur of Bengal…..but it was not to be….

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Sad story for Ashrafon Bibi (from the story in your link) and many others.

  3. joeantony   March 25, 2009 at 5:44 am

    Srinivas : By 2010 / 2011 – Recession should end

    I hope not in the US. There is a huge amount of stuff to be repaired.. and as SI told there could be a huge pile of stuff left without being able to be repaired. Nano could find a space in the US on the price tag, but on the security front its very difficult, I cant even imagine this toy car in a interstate free way.

  4. Aswin_Kini   April 21, 2009 at 3:03 am

    Cheapo Nano?????

    Let’s wait for the car to hit the roads and we’ll see whether it fits the bill. As for GM, they were the ones to dig their own grave.

    No use blaming INdia for each and everything buddy!

    If Indians stop using american products right from the toothpaste Pepsodent to the costly American Brand clothes, these guys will be begging in the streets for now. So for all of those India bashers, Think before you talk. You people got into this state due to your own greed.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    1. You write above: If Indians stop using american products right from the toothpaste Pepsodent to the costly American Brand clothes, these guys will be begging in the streets for now

    The costly American clothes most likely come from Bangladesh, India, Guatemala or Costa Rica. Look at the label inside.

    We don’t know about Pepsodent but a lot of American toothpaste comes from China.

    2. American auto industry is finished. Kaput. Beyond salvage.

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