Questions about the future of the Tata Nano - questions that flared up when the plant that was to build the world's cheapest car was put under siege recently - are starting to be answered, but only just. The protest at the plant has now ended, the BBC reports, and the fallout is now beginning.

Opposition groups - which were protesting the way that land for the plant's expansion was acquired by the local government - stopped their protest after the government promised to return some of that land. But, the work stoppage at the plant has not yet ended because Tata Motors is "distressed at the limited clarity on the outcome of the discussions between the State Government of West Bengal and the representatives of the agitators in Singur," according to a company spokesman who talked to the BBC. Even though the Nano plant would still have land to grow under the expected new deal, whether the company moves Nano production to another part of India is still unknown.

[Source: BBC]

Tata Motors has confirmed that the rumors of an all-electric Tata Ace and the all-electric Tata Indica are true. In an unveiling in India this past week, the company took the wraps off of two lithium-ion battery-powered EV prototypes based on the Ace work truck and the Indica sedan (pictured). As we heard earlier this year, the Indica EV will first be sold in the Norweigian market next year because the Scandinavian country "has the necessary infrastructure in place to run electric cars which India lacks," as Tata Motors President Ravi Kant put it. Indians will get their own chance to buy the car in about 24 months. According to the Business-Standard, the all-electric Indica has two battery packs which can charge in eight hour and go around 110-120 miles on a charge.

Now, about an electric Nano...

[Source: Business-Standard]

click photo to enlarge

With work halted at the factory that is to build the Tata Nano, the future of the world's cheapest car is uncertain. Well, we're still pretty certain that it will be built somewhere, but the details are much more hazy now that people in the West Bengal region have spoken out against the way Tata Motors got the land to expand their plant. Tata might pull out and move to a more-friendly region, but what does the whole kerfluffle mean for cheap motoring in India and the world?

Writing in Automotive News Europe (subs req'd), Jesse Snyder makes a clear statement: "No matter who "wins" in the protracted protest over land in India's impoverished West Bengal region, the innovative Tata Nano will lose." Snyder's article is a fair look at the situation and says that the main problem here, for Tata Motors, is lost time. Ultra-cheap cars are coming for the masses, and if Tata wants to be in the game (a game they helped create), then they need to find a solution fast. Of course, if you're of the mindset that ultra-cheap cars are not what the planet ordered, then perhaps one siege isn't enough for you...


[Source: Automotive News Europe]

I never thought I'd be typing in the words "nano factory siege" into Google, but now I have. On the drive home last night, I heard a staticky report on BBC Radio about some sort of siege, starting today, at the plant that is supposed produce the world's smallest cheapest car. Since I didn't catch the whole story on the radio, I thought I'd see the the Internets can tell me. In short, it's a tricky situation, but the BBC has the details.

Apparently, because Tata Motors is one of the biggest companies in India, the opposition party in West Bengal - where the plant is located - is protesting the a move by the governing communist party. The point of contention is (I think) the thousand acres that the state seized for the factory's expansion. Tata chief Ratan Tata is threatening to move the production facility to another state if things don't calm down - and other states are saying they're more than happy to welcome him. We'll keep an eye on this, as the Nano promises to be a game-shifting vehicle wherever it is built.


[Source: BBC]

click above for more images of the Tata Nano

Those in emerging markets hoping to get their hands on the cheapest car in the world may soon have a few more option boxes to consider checking. Chairman Ratan Tata has said in the past that an electric-only version of the Tata Nano is likely, and now industry sources are saying that a diesel engine is also in the works. Displacing 800cc and including common-rail injection from Bosch and a Honeywell turbocharger, the diesel engine has been designed by German powertrain specialist FEV, the same firm that India's Mahindra reportedly contacted for help with its latest diesel hybrid engine.

We don't yet know what kind of fuel mileage the diesel would offer, but the twin cylinder gas engine standard in the Nano is good for 54 U.S. miles per gallon and the diesel should better that figure somewhat, though most likely for a slight increase in price.


[Source: The Economic Times]

A month ago, Tata Motors announced they would be entering two vehicles in the Automotive X Prize. The company's involvement with the 100 mpge challenge has now deepened as Ratan Tata, the Chairman of Tata Sons (which owns Tata Motors, the maker of the Tata Nano, among other companies) has become a member of the X Prize Foundation's Board of Trustees. The President of BT Americas, Michael Boustridge, also joined the Board. The Board and the X Prize Foundation are in charge of more than just the Progressive Automotive X Prize, as the X Prize's "Revolution through Competition" model is also trying to find new ways to get back to the moon among other endeavors. Bios of both new Board members are available after the break.

Click on the photo to watch the BBC video of the Nano engineers

When you set out to produce a car at one-third the cost of anything else on the market, a lot things invariably need to be left behind. Creating a car like the Tata Nano requires taking a complete top down look at every system in the car. Every component needs to be analyzed to make sure it's really needed. For example, instead of the usual four or five lugs, the wheels of the Nano use only three. Given the low power and light weight, this is sufficient. Not only does it reduce the part count, it also reduces the time required to assemble the car. Other examples of parts reduction and simplification appear in the door handle mechanism which now has half the number of parts. Of course all this simplification runs the risk of reducing reliability and durability. Only time will tell if the Tata engineers have gone too far. For more, watch as the BBC takes a look at how Tata created the Nano.

[Source: BBC, thanks to Misha for the tip!]

Buoyed by the response to the Tata Nano (i.e., the world's cheapest car), Tata Motors Limited is ready to make the move to green. The company announced today that it will compete in the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize by entering two vehicles in the race. Well, Tata has signed a letter of intent to compete, which is as far as any of the 70+ teams have gotten.

In a statement put out by the X Prize foundation (pasted after the jump), Tata says they intend "to enter a pure e-drive micro car into the Alternative Class and Dominant Electric Hybrid vehicle into the Mainstream Class." We'll have to wait for more information on these vehicles, as that is literally all we have right now. Whether Tata wins or not, if they even come close, whatever lessons they learn while designing and building the entrant vehicles should be applicable to later generations of the Nano and other Tata vehicles. Considering Tata's ambitious roll-out plans, this is excellent news.

We told you recently about a car looking very much like last year's Chevy Beat concept being spotted testing in China. We still don't know if that car was actually a GM prototype or copy from one of the countless Chinese automakers who have no qualms about using the design departments of other, more established automakers to produce their wares. However, earlier this week Automotive news reported that GM is actively working through their Chinese operations to develop a much lower cost car for developing markets. While the Tata Nano is obviously a stimulus to develop a cheap entry level product, GM is apparently unlikely to go quite as cheap as Tata's $2,500 entry price. The current Chevy Spark (the "design" inspiration for the Chery QQ) sells for $5,650 in China right now and engineers at SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co. have been tasked with cutting the production cost of the next generation model by half. That car, built on the same Global minicar platform, as the Beat is expected to debut in late 2009.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]

Yesterday's big news that Land Rover and Jaguar were sold to Tata Motors give us a chance to talk Land Rover in terms of CO₂ emissions. Jaguar we'll just ignore for now, because Land Rover is a much more interesting case. We've ooohed and aaahed at the nice LRX concept, which would emit just 120 grams of CO₂ per kilometer should it ever make it out of the Auto Show circuit, but in general Land Rover isn't exactly a clean car company. Automotive News Europe (subs req'd) found that Land Rover's sales are up dramatically in the last few years and the company is apparently "solidly profitable" (Jaguar's in trouble here). ANE said that Land Rover's CO₂ emissions across the board need to be dropped and a brand reinvention to feature "fun, fashionable SUVs with a social conscience, rather than big gas-guzzling V-8 models that attract criticism from environmental campaigners" would be the right move. I see Tata as getting a bit schizophrenic here: big SUVs, the world's cheapest car and Jaguars? Still, if AutoWeek is correct, then the LRX will play a big role in the future of this new automotive hydra. That'd be sweet.


[Source: Tony Lewin / Automotive News Europe]

We got our first official look at Tata's Nano in January (and a very good unofficial look in December). Tata's Nano will make its international debut at this year's Geneva Motor Show but when will it go on sale in Europe? According to reports, Europe may have to wait up to four years for the cars to arrive. Meanwhile, Indians will be able to get a hold of the world's cheapest car the second half of this year.

According to Reuters, Girish Wagh, head of compact car projects at Tata Motors, told German magazine Focus, that Europe would get second-gen Nanos. "We will develop a successor model in four years time, which will meet the Euro 5 emission regulations and the crash standards in Europe," Wagh said. European safety upgrades, which should include air bags because India does not mandate them, will add an unknown amount to the $2,500 car. Second-gen Nanos are also expected to get 78 MPG.


[Source: Inside Line]

We told you there are concerns Tata Motor's Nano will drive up oil prices. What does Tata chairman Ratan Tata think about this? In the first video below the fold, Ratan laughs it off. We told you Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, former Shell chairman said low MPG cars should be banned. Want to see Mark say that in his Prius? Check out the second video below the fold. We told Mitt Romney said he supported the Governator's right to get a waiver ... then Mitt took it back. Want to see Mitt's first position on the waiver? You can probably guess it's in the third video below the fold.

[Source: YouTube]

In the video above, Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Motors, responds to critics who say the Nano is not safe and pollutes. Here's what he said yesterday:

Let me assure you and also assure our critics that the car we have designed and that we will be presenting to you today will indeed meet all the current safety requirements of a modern day car. Of late, when it became known that we will in fact be making such a car, the attention has moved to questioning the pollution it would create. Let me again assure those who have concerns for the environment, that the car we present you today will meet all current legislated emission criteria and will have a lower pollution level than even a two-wheeler being manufactured in India today.

Concerns are also now being expressed about the congestion that could be caused by the existence of our small car in large numbers. I believe this needs to be put in the right perspective. There is no doubt that India is woefully behind its neighbors in infrastructure. The government is now endeavoring to address this situation with its new road policy. Looking ahead, five years from today, were we to produce and sell 500,000 small cars every year, we would then, at the end of five years, constitute approximately 2.5 percent of all passenger vehicles in the country. This could hardly be considered the nightmare of congestion that is being raised today about our new small car.

Below the fold is another video where Ratan explains that he made the Nano because of unsafe driving on scooters by families. Also below the fold is a video where Ratan says the Nano will indeed retail for 1-lakh because "a promise is a promise." What do you think, readers? I have to admit, I still have doubts but I'm really impressed and excited with what he says.

Related:

• Here's the $2,500 Tata Nano, the Indian peoples car
• VIDEO: Live reveal of the $2,500 Tata Nano
• The World chimes in on the Tata Nano

[Source: YouTube]

click above to view more images of the Tata Nano

Tata Motors company chairman Ratan Tata officially revealed the new $2,500 Nano Thursday in New Delhi. The tiny four seat Nano will initially be offered in India later this year, but it won't be exclusive to its home market. We won't be seeing the Nano in the U.S. any time soon, but it will be exported to markets where the income levels might create some demand for such an inexpensive car. That would include places like Africa, Latin America and perhaps even Eastern Europe. You can check out a video of the reveal of the 54mpg car after the jump.

[Source: Tata Motors]

The low-cost Indian "peoples car" has finally been shown in public for the first time at the New Delhi Auto Expo. Developed by Tata Motors to a target price of $2,500, the four seater has a 624cc gasoline engine mounted under the rear seat and is called the Nano. There has been a lot concern that meeting the price target would require Tata to skimp on emission controls and safety. The manufacturer claims that the 33hp engine meets current Euro IV emissions standards and is cleaner than most of the scooters running around on Indian streets right now. They also claim that the car has passed frontal and side impact tests although no mention is currently made of what standard they are testing too.

The Nano will be available in three trim levels with the base $2,500 getting no air conditioning. The two upper levels do get AC although it's not clear if that 33hp engine will be able to move the car and provide chilled air at the same time. The minimalist interior includes non-reclining seating for four, a four speed manual transmission, an a dashboard with speedometer, fuel gauge and oil light. Tata claims the Nano can achieve 54 mpg (U.S.) presumably without the A/C. It should be available in the second half of 2008 with a sales target of 500,000 units annually.

[Source: Rediff, thanks to Sayyad for the tip]