March 5, 2008

The Tata Nano has been the surprise sensation of the Geneva Motor show. The excitement is drawn less from the diminutive city car, priced at £1250 the worlds cheapest production car, but more from what it represents.

Tata are poised to buy the iconic Jaguar and Land Rover brands from Ford in a £1bn deal. Their desire to bring the Nano to a European market could bear fruit relatively quickly and their expectations seem to be changing with each motor show they attend.

When they unveiled the car at the Delhi Auto Expo in January, Ratan Tata, Tata Group's chairman, said that the Nano will be sold solely in India for "two or three years" after which exports to South East Asian, African, South American and European markets will follow, confirming suggestions that a left-hand drive variant is under development. However when pressed, at Geneva, on the plans for a launch for the Nano outside India Mr Tata commented “The Nano will address global markets in due course but when it will do so has not been decided.”

The car will need to be upgraded for a European launch in order to comply with regulatory and legislative requirements. Given the fact that the car was developed and launched in 5 years, the tightening up of production standards is unlikely to take very long.

There has been an element of concern at the effect this car may have on the environment in India as it would potentially mean many more people will be able to purchase a car. The Nano does offer decent economy figures, at 50 mpg, but even this low figure will significantly raise the level of pollution if the car sells in the millions, and millions of new motorists are created.

This new bargain car will have a seismic impact on the European car market and may herald the next wave of change in the worldwide car market.

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