Nano still not micro-priced for Indians
TEXT OF STORY
Stacey Vanek-Smith: One delivery that is going out today: the Nano. Indian motor giant Tata is delivering what is says is the world’s cheapest car. Alisa Roth reports.
Alisa Roth: The Nano costs about $2,000. It has four speeds and four doors. But neither AC nor a radio.
Michael Robinet follows the global auto industry at CSM worldwide, an auto consulting business. He says Tata’s new car is pretty basic. But that’s the whole point.
Michael Robinet: They are essentially targeting people driving two-wheeled motorcycles and mopeds as well as three-wheeled vehicles.
More than 200,000 people have signed up to buy the car.
The Nano sounds dirt cheap to us, but it’s still too expensive for many Indians. Even so, Robinet thinks it has the potential to create a mobile revolution. He says there could be a market for as many as 8 million in India alone.
Robinet: In some respects, the Nano is breaking new ground in this form.
And creating a lot of excitement. Just about every carmaker in the world from Volkswagen to GM is racing to come up with its own version of the peoples’ car.
I’m Alisa Roth for Marketplace.
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