The One lakh car need not be One Lakh anymore. Yes, with the increase in steel prices as high as 25% in April 2009, 2% excise duty on cars, 2% price hike on tyres, and increasing labor costs, all are pricking the price tag of Nano.
Although, Tata was reluctant to announce the newer prices of Tata Nano, the situations around, obviously infers that except the lucky first 1,00,000 owners who booked Nano, attracted solely because of Tata and the 1,00,000 rupees price, all others who shall book later this year , might need to shell out an additional Rs.30,000, applicable for all the three, Base, CX and LX versions.
What Nano had done more than its boastful ultra low price is the platform it has created in global automobile industries for low cost middle-class targeted cars. A notable point at this juncture is that out of every 1000 people in India, less than 10 people have a four-wheeler, promising a fantastic future for small cars in home land.
Maruti Suzuki has plans to launch Cervo, a new car competing Nano. French car Maker, Renault in collaboration with Nissan, a Japanese firm, together with Bajaj, Indian second largest two wheeler manufacturer shall project another low cost car in 2012.
Global No.1 Toyota, Ford and Honda all have futuristic visions for making motor cars for the masses. India, being a favourable land for exports as well, is a boon to all the auto manufacturers, to produce the cars in a comparatively lower cost here and ship them worldwide.
Tata Nano, stands out of crowded hatch backs in Indian soil with a large gap in terms of pricing, by a large Rs. 1,00,000 of Nano’s base version against its nearest rivals Maruti Omni (Rs.2,00,000) and Maruti 800(2,10,000) base version.