Indian auto giant Tata Motors introduced the world's least expensive car, the Nano, in Mumbai on Monday.
Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata said the company's goal was to design a
car that would put auto ownership within reach for many Indians who are
unable to afford traditional cars.
The $2,000, four-door automobile, which Tata describes as "The People's
Car," is about three meters long and 1.5 meters wide. Nano's basic
model has a four-speed manual transmission, a rear engine and one
windshield wiper.
Tata Motors says it will start taking orders on April 9th.
Indians and the auto industry have long been looking forward to the
launch, which previously had been set for last year. But the global
economic downturn and production difficulties delayed the introduction.
Tata had to pull its plant out of West Bengal state in 2008 because of continued opposition to its presence there.
Opposition leaders said villagers were unfairly compensated for the land that was used to build the Tata factory. We have more from our Kolkata Stringer, Gautam Gupta.