The Tata Group has unvieled Nano, its people’s car, at the ninth Auto Expo that began in New Delhi today.Priced atRS 1 Lakh, exclusive of taxes, it will be the cheapest car in the world.For comparison, it is half the price of Maruti 800, which has been ruling the roads of India for the last nearly two decades. Nano will be the most affordable four-wheeler, particularly for those using two-wheeler. At this level of price, few companies can complete with Tata, a fact admitted by none ohter than Maruti Suzuki. Small wonder that car companies the world over have been waiting with bated breath to see wheather Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata would be able to deliver on his promise.

The Auto Expo has already seen a number of companies, including Maruti Suzuki, Ford, Tata-Fiat, Bajaj & Sakoda announcing small cars which will hit the roads in a couple of years. These cars are no patch on Nano in terms of price. They are all in the mid-hatchback segment, i.e. for those who want to graduate from the entry level.There are two main reasons for the car explosion in India. With the Indian economy growing at a double-digit rate, there is a huge potential market for cars in India. Also, India, where the cost of labour is comparatively cheap, can become a major production centre for foreign carmakers. Already, companies like the South Korean Hyundai are exporting cars like
Getz, manufactured in India, to all over the world. On the flip side, the new cars will add to the traffic congestion in cities like Delhi & Chandigarh, which have the
highest resident ratio. There are not enough roads & parking slots to accommodate the ever-increasing number of vechiles. Equally significant, the announcements about the new vechiles have come at a time when the crude oil price has hit the $100 per barrel-mark. This is bound to impact the oil import bill. All this, however, does not
detract form the point that the new cars, some of them planned, & engineered in India, reflect the technological & economic strength of India & it is, therefore, something to be celebrated, rather than depreciated.