India's giant Tata Group unveiled Thursday a 2,500-dollar car it bills as the world's cheapest amid predictions the compact, no-frills vehicle could revolutionise how the nation of 1.1 billion people travels.
The four-door car, which has five seats and is due to hit the market later this year costing just 100,000 rupees (2,500 US dollars) excluding tax, is aimed at Indians hoping to trade up from a motorcycle to four wheels.
The Tata "Nano" - which looks extremely similar to a Smart car - has a small, rear-mounted 33bhp 624cc engine. The basic model has no air conditioning, no electric windows and no power steering, although two deluxe versions will be available.
Tycoon Ratan Tata, the 70-year-old who heads the tea-to-steel group, compared the car's launch to a landmark in the history of transportation, like the first powered flight by the Wright brothers and the first lunar landing.
The car was unveiled at the annual Delhi car show to the theme from Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film, "2001: A Space Odyssey." Tata said he wanted to make "a safe, affordable and all-weather transport - a people's car, designed to meet all safety standards and emissions laws and accessible to all."
He said it was "a car that most people said could not be manufactured at that price" and that Tata had stuck to its 100,000-rupee target price, but added VAT would be extra.
He also dismissed fears the Nano - a name supposed to be both high-tech and to smack of smallness - would herald more congestion and pollution, arguing the new car would be better and safer than most motorcycles on India's roads.
"Let me assure you and also assure our critics the car we have designed will meet all the current safety requirements ... and will have a lower pollution level than even a two-wheeler being manufactured in India today," Tata said.
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