The very first time Exclusive Interior Shots of Tata Motors Nano plant at SingurWednesday, August 27, 2008
Tata Motors Nano plant at Singur
The very first time Exclusive Interior Shots of Tata Motors Nano plant at Singur
Monday, June 30, 2008
Tata plans Nano roll out by Durga Puja despite cost overrun
Tata Motors today said its ambitious Nano project was facing cost overrun but maintained the Rs one lakh car could be rolled out from its Singur facility by Durga Puja.
Company Managing Director of the company Ravi Kant, who met West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee at Writers' Buildings here, told reporters that the entire project had been reworked at the plant site at Singur due to floods last year which had led to the cost escalation.
"We have already sunk in Rs 2000 crore", Kant said, adding earlier the project cost was pegged at Rs 1700 crore.
Stating that Tata Motors was fully committed to the Singur project, Kant said if everything went well as planned, then the Nano car would be rolled out from the plant during Durga Puja.
"We hope to start trial production during July or August" he said.
Asked whether there was a possibility of Nano being rolled out from any other plant of Tata Motors, Kant said, "Nano will be produced out of West Bengal".
Kant had visited the Singur plant yesterday to review progress and held long discussions with suppliers and vendors.
Source:PTI
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
From Nano to Jaguar Land Rover
Tata Motors enters into Definitive Agreement with Ford for purchase of Jaguar Land Rover
Tata Motors today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with the Ford Motor Company for the purchase of Jaguar Land Rover, comprising brands, plants and Intellectual Property Rights.
The transfer of ownership to Tata Motors is expected to close by the end of the next quarter, subject to applicable regulatory approvals.
The total amount to be paid in cash by Tata Motors for Jaguar Land Rover upon closing will be approximately US $2.3 billion. At closing, Ford will then contribute up to approximately US $600 million to the Jaguar Land Rover pension plans.
Commenting on the agreement, Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors, Mr. Ratan N. Tata, said, “We are very pleased at the prospect of Jaguar and Land Rover being a significant part of our automotive business. We have enormous respect for the two brands and will endeavour to preserve and build on their heritage and competitiveness, keeping their identities intact. We aim to support their growth, while holding true to our principles of allowing the management and employees to bring their experience and expertise to bear on the growth of the business.”
Mr. Alan Mulally, President and CEO of the Ford Motor Company, said, "Jaguar and Land Rover are terrific brands. We are confident that they are leaving our fold with the products, plan and team to continue to thrive under Tata's stewardship. Now, it is time for Ford to concentrate on integrating the Ford brand globally, as we implement our plan to create a strong Ford Motor Company that delivers profitable growth for all."
As part of the transaction, Ford will continue to supply Jaguar Land Rover for differing periods with powertrains, stampings and other vehicle components, in addition to a variety of technologies, such as environmental and platform technologies. Ford also has committed to provide engineering support, including research and development, plus information technology, accounting and other services.
In addition, Ford Motor Credit Company will provide financing for Jaguar and Land Rover dealers and customers during a transitional period, which can vary by market, of up to 12 months.
The parties believe these arrangements will support Jaguar Land Rover's current product plans, while providing Jaguar Land Rover with the freedom to develop its own stand-alone capabilities in the future that will best serve its premium manufacturer requirements.
The parties do not anticipate any significant changes to Jaguar Land Rover employees’ terms of employment on completion.
Jaguar Land Rover's employees, trades unions and the UK Government have been kept informed of developments as the sale process progressed and have indicated their support for the agreement.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
After Nano, what?
India will choke unless it modernises its city transport systems, and you can't blame the Nano for this.
Tata’s Nano has set the dovecotes aflutter and reactions are flying in all directions. Some people have hailed it, rightly, as the advent of mobility in India’s frozen countryside. Others, wrongly, have denounced it as a bad idea, fearing that these tiny beetles will overwhelm our cities and choke their already badly clogged arteries.
The main point about the Nano lies elsewhere. Nano is not the problem, our unpreparedness is. If we feel there are too many cars already on our streets, it’s because we have too few streets in the first place. If transportation is slow, it’s because we’ve done very little to speed it up.
I came back to Kolkata ten years ago after 25 years of living abroad, only to find it’s still the same constricted city I had always known it to be. Some flyovers have been built but few new roads. New buses are being merrily introduced even as road spaces keep shrinking. Hand-pulled rickshaws still ply, along with bicycles, cycle vans, and even pushcarts. Unsynchronised, manually operated lights are still the only way traffic is managed at intersections.
Roads are in perpetual chaos: dug up, repaired, dug up, or dug up and left half- or quarter-repaired. Carriageways are always half-blocked by parked vehicles, vendors and crowd spills. Trams still lumber along, though riders are few. Indiscipline is considered a mark of good driving. Lanes have no meaning. In such a city, Nanos are sure to create a nightmare, but that’s no fault of the Tatas.
Regulations and restrictions can win only half the battle, if strictly enforced. Hong Kong is an excellent example of how sheer discipline keeps even an acutely space-starved city moving. But we’ll never win the battle fully unless we renovate and restructure our cities, build a seamless network of intra- and inter-city roads, and introduce well-designed parallel modes of public transportation that will complement each other. The Nano has brought into sharp focus the need for a thorough re-planning of our cities and traffic systems because we can’t stop cars from being made and bought, thereby killing an industry, or play King Canute and order a cap on urban growth.
Most Asian cities are going through fundamental changes to overcome the mounting pressures of cars and people. Beijing may be an extreme example where almost entire sections have been pulled down and rebuilt to make roads wider, straighter and unhindered, but major efforts can be seen almost everywhere to loosen up cities.
Having built a spectacular network of bridges, elevated city expressways, subways and a magnetic levitation commuter railway, Shanghai is now building a series of satellite communities, including a new town scooped from the sea, to mop up the overspill from its city centre. The Skytrain has revolutionised Bangkok, and the first of five proposed bus rapid transit routes will soon join its expanding subway network. Seoul is continuously expanding its subways and bus lanes, and 20 new highway routes are to cut through city and metropolitan areas by 2020.
In the next 12 years, Ho Chi Minh City will spend $26 billion to improve its transport systems, involving urban railways, ring roads, and radial arteries connecting the inner city with the suburbs and national expressways. An underground railway network is slated for Jakarta to complement its monorail and bus rapid transit corridors. Even a small place like Hong Kong, with one of the highest vehicle densities in the world, has 11 major road tunnels, 1,178 flyovers and bridges, 672 footbridges, and 417 underpasses to keep its people and goods on the move. There are nine city highways, and connections are seamless. I remember taking a bus once from Causeway Bay all the way to the New Territories without having to stop at a traffic light.
The message from Asia’s urban transformation is loud and clear. Cosmetic surgery won’t work. Widening roads here and there or building individual flyovers won’t help. We need radical change.
First, a system of ‘city highways’ must be put in place to link centre city with the suburbs and beyond, with exits to major roads along the way. Ring roads have to be built at various distances with similar accesses. Getaway roads should be intersection-free.
Second, new, well-planned satellite townships, with getaway transportation links, should be built to decongest mother cities.
Third, public transport must be assigned the biggest share of city traffic. In Hong Kong it’s 90 per cent, which explains why the city hasn’t crumbled under its own weight.
And fourth, there must be a multiple choice of public transport. Buses, of course, but underground and elevated railways as well, forming a well-meshed network. Without networked public transport, it’s impossible to untangle the traffic gridlocks sqeezing Indian cities.
That’s the lesson. Are we going to learn?
Tata’s Nano has set the dovecotes aflutter and reactions are flying in all directions. Some people have hailed it, rightly, as the advent of mobility in India’s frozen countryside. Others, wrongly, have denounced it as a bad idea, fearing that these tiny beetles will overwhelm our cities and choke their already badly clogged arteries.
The main point about the Nano lies elsewhere. Nano is not the problem, our unpreparedness is. If we feel there are too many cars already on our streets, it’s because we have too few streets in the first place. If transportation is slow, it’s because we’ve done very little to speed it up.
I came back to Kolkata ten years ago after 25 years of living abroad, only to find it’s still the same constricted city I had always known it to be. Some flyovers have been built but few new roads. New buses are being merrily introduced even as road spaces keep shrinking. Hand-pulled rickshaws still ply, along with bicycles, cycle vans, and even pushcarts. Unsynchronised, manually operated lights are still the only way traffic is managed at intersections.
Roads are in perpetual chaos: dug up, repaired, dug up, or dug up and left half- or quarter-repaired. Carriageways are always half-blocked by parked vehicles, vendors and crowd spills. Trams still lumber along, though riders are few. Indiscipline is considered a mark of good driving. Lanes have no meaning. In such a city, Nanos are sure to create a nightmare, but that’s no fault of the Tatas.
Regulations and restrictions can win only half the battle, if strictly enforced. Hong Kong is an excellent example of how sheer discipline keeps even an acutely space-starved city moving. But we’ll never win the battle fully unless we renovate and restructure our cities, build a seamless network of intra- and inter-city roads, and introduce well-designed parallel modes of public transportation that will complement each other. The Nano has brought into sharp focus the need for a thorough re-planning of our cities and traffic systems because we can’t stop cars from being made and bought, thereby killing an industry, or play King Canute and order a cap on urban growth.
Most Asian cities are going through fundamental changes to overcome the mounting pressures of cars and people. Beijing may be an extreme example where almost entire sections have been pulled down and rebuilt to make roads wider, straighter and unhindered, but major efforts can be seen almost everywhere to loosen up cities.
Having built a spectacular network of bridges, elevated city expressways, subways and a magnetic levitation commuter railway, Shanghai is now building a series of satellite communities, including a new town scooped from the sea, to mop up the overspill from its city centre. The Skytrain has revolutionised Bangkok, and the first of five proposed bus rapid transit routes will soon join its expanding subway network. Seoul is continuously expanding its subways and bus lanes, and 20 new highway routes are to cut through city and metropolitan areas by 2020.
In the next 12 years, Ho Chi Minh City will spend $26 billion to improve its transport systems, involving urban railways, ring roads, and radial arteries connecting the inner city with the suburbs and national expressways. An underground railway network is slated for Jakarta to complement its monorail and bus rapid transit corridors. Even a small place like Hong Kong, with one of the highest vehicle densities in the world, has 11 major road tunnels, 1,178 flyovers and bridges, 672 footbridges, and 417 underpasses to keep its people and goods on the move. There are nine city highways, and connections are seamless. I remember taking a bus once from Causeway Bay all the way to the New Territories without having to stop at a traffic light.
The message from Asia’s urban transformation is loud and clear. Cosmetic surgery won’t work. Widening roads here and there or building individual flyovers won’t help. We need radical change.
First, a system of ‘city highways’ must be put in place to link centre city with the suburbs and beyond, with exits to major roads along the way. Ring roads have to be built at various distances with similar accesses. Getaway roads should be intersection-free.
Second, new, well-planned satellite townships, with getaway transportation links, should be built to decongest mother cities.
Third, public transport must be assigned the biggest share of city traffic. In Hong Kong it’s 90 per cent, which explains why the city hasn’t crumbled under its own weight.
And fourth, there must be a multiple choice of public transport. Buses, of course, but underground and elevated railways as well, forming a well-meshed network. Without networked public transport, it’s impossible to untangle the traffic gridlocks sqeezing Indian cities.
That’s the lesson. Are we going to learn?
Source: Business Standard
Monday, February 11, 2008
Tata to take Nano to Europe in 4 years
Tata Motors plans to introduce its ultra-cheap Nano car to the European market in four years' time, the head of compact car projects at Tata Motors told German magazine Focus.
"We will develop a successor model in four years time, which will meet the Euro 5 emission regulations and the crash standards in Europe," Girish Wagh was quoted as saying by Focus in an advance abstract on Sunday.
The main target was to reduce the car's fuel consumption to three from currently five litres per 100 kilometres (62.5 miles), Wagh told the magazine.
Tata Motors unveiled the $2,500 Nano, the world's cheapest car, in January and said the new four-seater would roll out later in the year from its factory in West Bengal.
Tata has said it will initially produce about 250,000 Nanos and expects eventual annual demand of 1 million units. Tata has said it would focus on the home market for two to three years before considering exporting the Nano to countries in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
Global car makers, initially sceptical that Tata could produce such a low-cost car, are now scurrying to make their own versions to meet the needs of cost-conscious consumers in emerging economies such as China, India and Russia.
"We will develop a successor model in four years time, which will meet the Euro 5 emission regulations and the crash standards in Europe," Girish Wagh was quoted as saying by Focus in an advance abstract on Sunday.
The main target was to reduce the car's fuel consumption to three from currently five litres per 100 kilometres (62.5 miles), Wagh told the magazine.
Tata Motors unveiled the $2,500 Nano, the world's cheapest car, in January and said the new four-seater would roll out later in the year from its factory in West Bengal.
Tata has said it will initially produce about 250,000 Nanos and expects eventual annual demand of 1 million units. Tata has said it would focus on the home market for two to three years before considering exporting the Nano to countries in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
Global car makers, initially sceptical that Tata could produce such a low-cost car, are now scurrying to make their own versions to meet the needs of cost-conscious consumers in emerging economies such as China, India and Russia.
Source:Reuters
Friday, February 8, 2008
Nano effect in global auto industry
It’s the latest and hottest segment in the car market, globally. Ever since the unveiling of the Tata Nano—and the hysterical response it triggered off in India and overseas—the ultra low cost car is right on top of the automotive mind-space . So much so that analysts and experts attending the Detroit auto show just after the Delhi Auto Expo were amazed to see that the car that made the most news there was the one that wasn’t even on show — namely the Nano.
So far we know pretty much every scrap of information that is avail-able on the Nano, till the car is officially launched later this year and is available for test-drives . We know that the standard variant — sans airconditioning and power steering—will have an ex-dealer price of Rs 1 lakh (though customers will have to shell out the value added tax and the logistics cost from the factory). That it sports a 623 cc, two-cylinder , MPFI engine with single balancer shart, four-speed manual transmission and top speed of 105 kms per hour. That the powertrain is packed in the rear to increase interior space.
That the four-door , four/five seater car is “8% smaller than the M800 externally but 21% more spacious internally,” according to Tata Mo-tors chairman Ratan Tata. That it meets the frontal crash test norms mandatory in India and has been designed to meet offset and side im-pact crash test norms required overseas as well. That in emission terms, it’s Bharat Stage 3 compatible and that its mileage is 20 km per litre. Vendor sources have already indicated that the air conditioned version is likely to be launched around December, with a 60cc AC. A diesel and hybrid version will also follow.
All of which makes the Nano a terribly exciting product. But that’s not all. What makes the ultra low cost (ULC) trend even more exciting is the number of top MNC carmakers that have indicated that they would be looking at the segment in the near future. Immediately after the launch of the Nano, engineers from Volkswagen and Renault were seen and heard discussing the car’s build, development and styling. Auto industry sources say, top global companies like Volkswagen, Nis-san and Toyota have reportedly sent out to feelers to Indian vendors for their version of a $3000-4000 car. This in addition to the Bajaj-Renault project where feasibility study is already on.
According to vendor sources, the cost benefits of the ULC segment has triggered interest from top names in the global auto business. And given the Tata and Bajaj project, India is being seen as a hub for this segment. At the Detroit Motor Show, top Toyota officials were quoted saying that its an exciting segment and the company would like to take a look at it. Toyota has been mulling a small car for emerging markets which will be sourced mostly from India and its interest in the ULC segment could give Tata Motors some really tough competition particularly since Toyota is extremely efficient at globally procuring for low cost platforms, something it fine-tuned with the Innova project.
As for Volkswagen, a top company official said that the German marque has not firmed up plans for a low-cost car but is looking for high localisation in all cars that will be produced in India. Volkswagen MD (passenger cars) Andreas Prinz said: “We have not finalised any plans for a low-cost car for the Indian market. For us the Polo is the smallest car while UP!, which is in the concept stage, will also debut India sometime in 2010. All these cars will meet the Volkswagen safety standards and even UP!, which is the smallest car from our sta-ble , is expected to be priced around 6000 euros. Any entry below that price band is yet to be considered.”
However, sources say VW, which is setting up its own plant at Chakan near Pune, is seriously looking at the ULC market. Vendors have also indicated that GM sent out feelers though the company says it is not interested in that segment.
The other company that may be considering an ULC foray is Korean major Hyundai. The company had earlier announced plans to venture into the low-cost car market but the global cars it is working on would be priced around $5,000-6 ,000 — double the Nano segment — are scheduled for roll out by 2010. H S Lheem, MD & CEO Hyundai Motor India had earlier said: “We are making a low-cost car which will con-form to global safety standards and emission norms. Our R&D team in Korea is developing the concept for these low-cost cars, which would find their way to the emerging markets including India. We can utilise our manufacturing at Chennai for making low-cost cars in future.”
However latest reports trickling in say that Hyundai may also be looking to join the ULC bandwagon. In a recent interaction with the media , top officials of the company were quoted saying that it is planning a public car that is suitable for India and other eastern coun-tries and that the car will most likely compete with the Tata Nano when it rolls out. However the launch is not going to be immediate because developing a new model takes at least three years.
If and when Hyundai does launch its Nano competitor , it will join the ranks of the Bajaj-Renault-Nissan vehicle. Bajaj showcased a proto-type which will be the basis for the ULC car that the company will de-velop along with Renault and Nissan.
Nissan-Renault boss Carlos Ghosn was the first MNC to join the ultra low cost bandwagon and kicked off partnership talks with Bajaj middle of last year. The two companies are currently conducting feasibility studies on the project. Ghosn has indicated that his $3000 car will be built on a Bajaj platform with an Indian powertrain with design and chassis cues from Renault. “Other than the chassis, body and interiors, the engine, transmission , steering system, brakes and suspension of the final product will be similar to the prototype,” Bajaj Auto MD Ra-jiv Bajaj had said at the unveiling of the prototype at the Auto Expo.
When productionised, the car will give twice the mileage of current B-seg small cars with its gasoline engine. And it will have multiple pow-ertrain options . “We will also have a diesel option and one can always build LPG, CNG and hybrid options on to the platform as well,” Mr Bajaj had said. For diesel, Bosch is “one of the options”.
The interest in the Nano will not only mean more choice for Indian consumers at that price point but also a windfall for vendors who are already associated with the project. Indian vendors for the Nano have already announced that they are looking to leverage their ultra low cost experience globally. Bosch is targetting revenues of 1 billion euro ($1.5 billion) from sub-7000 euro cars by 2010. It also plans to transfer some of its Nano cost learnings to more developed markets. The com-pany is also pitching for more ultra low cost business and is already in talks with Bajaj for its Renault-Nissan small car JV. “We want to capitalise on Nano investment and will compete for more ultra low cost car projects worldwide,” a top official had indicated.
Given that some of the names now looking to invest in the ULC busi-ness already have a huge footprint in India — like Hyundai—or are building sizeable production capacity — like Volkswagen and Ren-ault /Nissan—it is safe to assume any global ULC model will use Indian vendors and engineering expertise. All of which will mean the car will be sourced locally and will remain competitive in terms of pricing. Auto analysts say the MNC competition in that segment is a blessing — it will push the bar up for technology but keep costs down due to competitive pressure.
Which means if you are looking for a $3000 car, all you need to do is wait. Just a bit. The Nano will be the first but it won’t be the only op-tion in the nottoo-distant future.
So far we know pretty much every scrap of information that is avail-able on the Nano, till the car is officially launched later this year and is available for test-drives . We know that the standard variant — sans airconditioning and power steering—will have an ex-dealer price of Rs 1 lakh (though customers will have to shell out the value added tax and the logistics cost from the factory). That it sports a 623 cc, two-cylinder , MPFI engine with single balancer shart, four-speed manual transmission and top speed of 105 kms per hour. That the powertrain is packed in the rear to increase interior space.
That the four-door , four/five seater car is “8% smaller than the M800 externally but 21% more spacious internally,” according to Tata Mo-tors chairman Ratan Tata. That it meets the frontal crash test norms mandatory in India and has been designed to meet offset and side im-pact crash test norms required overseas as well. That in emission terms, it’s Bharat Stage 3 compatible and that its mileage is 20 km per litre. Vendor sources have already indicated that the air conditioned version is likely to be launched around December, with a 60cc AC. A diesel and hybrid version will also follow.
All of which makes the Nano a terribly exciting product. But that’s not all. What makes the ultra low cost (ULC) trend even more exciting is the number of top MNC carmakers that have indicated that they would be looking at the segment in the near future. Immediately after the launch of the Nano, engineers from Volkswagen and Renault were seen and heard discussing the car’s build, development and styling. Auto industry sources say, top global companies like Volkswagen, Nis-san and Toyota have reportedly sent out to feelers to Indian vendors for their version of a $3000-4000 car. This in addition to the Bajaj-Renault project where feasibility study is already on.
According to vendor sources, the cost benefits of the ULC segment has triggered interest from top names in the global auto business. And given the Tata and Bajaj project, India is being seen as a hub for this segment. At the Detroit Motor Show, top Toyota officials were quoted saying that its an exciting segment and the company would like to take a look at it. Toyota has been mulling a small car for emerging markets which will be sourced mostly from India and its interest in the ULC segment could give Tata Motors some really tough competition particularly since Toyota is extremely efficient at globally procuring for low cost platforms, something it fine-tuned with the Innova project.
As for Volkswagen, a top company official said that the German marque has not firmed up plans for a low-cost car but is looking for high localisation in all cars that will be produced in India. Volkswagen MD (passenger cars) Andreas Prinz said: “We have not finalised any plans for a low-cost car for the Indian market. For us the Polo is the smallest car while UP!, which is in the concept stage, will also debut India sometime in 2010. All these cars will meet the Volkswagen safety standards and even UP!, which is the smallest car from our sta-ble , is expected to be priced around 6000 euros. Any entry below that price band is yet to be considered.”
However, sources say VW, which is setting up its own plant at Chakan near Pune, is seriously looking at the ULC market. Vendors have also indicated that GM sent out feelers though the company says it is not interested in that segment.
The other company that may be considering an ULC foray is Korean major Hyundai. The company had earlier announced plans to venture into the low-cost car market but the global cars it is working on would be priced around $5,000-6 ,000 — double the Nano segment — are scheduled for roll out by 2010. H S Lheem, MD & CEO Hyundai Motor India had earlier said: “We are making a low-cost car which will con-form to global safety standards and emission norms. Our R&D team in Korea is developing the concept for these low-cost cars, which would find their way to the emerging markets including India. We can utilise our manufacturing at Chennai for making low-cost cars in future.”
However latest reports trickling in say that Hyundai may also be looking to join the ULC bandwagon. In a recent interaction with the media , top officials of the company were quoted saying that it is planning a public car that is suitable for India and other eastern coun-tries and that the car will most likely compete with the Tata Nano when it rolls out. However the launch is not going to be immediate because developing a new model takes at least three years.
If and when Hyundai does launch its Nano competitor , it will join the ranks of the Bajaj-Renault-Nissan vehicle. Bajaj showcased a proto-type which will be the basis for the ULC car that the company will de-velop along with Renault and Nissan.
Nissan-Renault boss Carlos Ghosn was the first MNC to join the ultra low cost bandwagon and kicked off partnership talks with Bajaj middle of last year. The two companies are currently conducting feasibility studies on the project. Ghosn has indicated that his $3000 car will be built on a Bajaj platform with an Indian powertrain with design and chassis cues from Renault. “Other than the chassis, body and interiors, the engine, transmission , steering system, brakes and suspension of the final product will be similar to the prototype,” Bajaj Auto MD Ra-jiv Bajaj had said at the unveiling of the prototype at the Auto Expo.
When productionised, the car will give twice the mileage of current B-seg small cars with its gasoline engine. And it will have multiple pow-ertrain options . “We will also have a diesel option and one can always build LPG, CNG and hybrid options on to the platform as well,” Mr Bajaj had said. For diesel, Bosch is “one of the options”.
The interest in the Nano will not only mean more choice for Indian consumers at that price point but also a windfall for vendors who are already associated with the project. Indian vendors for the Nano have already announced that they are looking to leverage their ultra low cost experience globally. Bosch is targetting revenues of 1 billion euro ($1.5 billion) from sub-7000 euro cars by 2010. It also plans to transfer some of its Nano cost learnings to more developed markets. The com-pany is also pitching for more ultra low cost business and is already in talks with Bajaj for its Renault-Nissan small car JV. “We want to capitalise on Nano investment and will compete for more ultra low cost car projects worldwide,” a top official had indicated.
Given that some of the names now looking to invest in the ULC busi-ness already have a huge footprint in India — like Hyundai—or are building sizeable production capacity — like Volkswagen and Ren-ault /Nissan—it is safe to assume any global ULC model will use Indian vendors and engineering expertise. All of which will mean the car will be sourced locally and will remain competitive in terms of pricing. Auto analysts say the MNC competition in that segment is a blessing — it will push the bar up for technology but keep costs down due to competitive pressure.
Which means if you are looking for a $3000 car, all you need to do is wait. Just a bit. The Nano will be the first but it won’t be the only op-tion in the nottoo-distant future.
Source: Economic Times
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
A wonder called Nano
Bhabha’s dream comes true
Let me not jolt or surprise anyone: Nano was born in the dreams of the great scientist Homi Bhabha, father of India’s nuclear programme. Barely a year before his demise in a plane crash in 1967, Dr Bhabha outlined the path that would lead to India’s emergence as an industrial nation, parallel to the Western industrial powers. Nano is one of the glittering prizes from this path outlined by Bhabha.
In an elaborate lecture “Science and Problems of Industrial Development”, Homi Bhabha advocated creating a strong base of modern science and indigenous technology in India.
“The question (is) whether a self-generating industry can be established without establishing a powerful scientific base,” he observed. The answer was in the negative.
Indian industries’ development had so far proceeded on the basis of setting up plants and industries almost exclusively with foreign collaboration, he said. And added that nuclear industry’s experience, however, “makes it quite plain that this method can never lead to a self-generating industry without establishing a powerful scientific research and development effort to support it.”
Bhabha’s successors have carried forward his mantle and played a worthy role in bringing high-end technology to the aid of Indian industry by their scientific research and development.
The three premier nuclear R&D centres — BARC, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) and Centre for Advanced Technology (CAT) — have brought into the process of Indian industrial development an elevation through the products of their scientific R&D.
In fact, a close interaction between industry and the nuclear R&D centres is now part of the mandate for the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Atomic Energy.
Such advanced technologies as non-destructive materials’ testing and evaluation, lasers for industry and surgery, radioisotope-based tools and techniques, seamless welding, developing special material and alloys — light but strong — and robotic electronic devices, are among the boons from nuclear R&D centres.
Further, nuclear technology’s impact on industry has the distinction of imparting precision, stringent quality checks, and standards assurance to Indian industry.
Now, a new chapter has opened in science-backed technology elevation for industry by the office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Dr R.Chidambaram, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, together with the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet (SAC-C).
Their first commendable plank is to bridge the gap between industry and public sector R&D agencies such as those belonging to atomic energy, space, defence and agriculture. Among the first to benefit from this industry-public sector R&D interaction is the automobile sector.
A core advisory group on automative R&D (appropriately called CAR) was constituted in April 2003, with leading automobile industry representatives, including the chief designers of Tata Motor’s Indica/Indigo and Mahindra’s Scorpio and eminent scientists. Included in CAR is Dr S.M, Shahed, an NRI (ex-President of Society for Automative Engineers), and Prof S. Mohan of the Indian Institute of Science is the Chairman.
CAR has set very high goals in technology enhancement for the automobile sector — from two-wheelers through cars to heavy vehicles. One of its first actions has been to draw up a charter, creating a list of technologies that are critical to the development of world class automobile sector, and alongside, listing out top experts with an eye on building an automobile technology board.
The charter also seeks to draw up a “prioritised list of R&D programmes” that need to be taken up. The concept is to identify emerging frontier technologies in the automobile sector on which R&D has to be focussed.
The strength of the software industry in India is to be availed for the needs of the automobile industry so as to use this synergy to develop international expertise in the emerging area of automative electronics and controls.
Tomorrow’s car, with 40 per cent of its functions performed by microprocessors and sensors, is going to be a virtual computer on wheels. So work has to be done on advanced materials, telematics, low-cost safety, new fuels like hydrogen and allied areas.
While there is little doubt that the entire automobile industry in India is immensely benefiting from the working of CAR, those constituents capable of integrating the new pool of high-end technology of global standards with their own R&D such as Ratan Tata’s dispensation, will gain the most.
Science and technology will here generate the right mix for the automobile sector, spreading out to all segments of Indian industry. That has been Homi Bhabha’s dream of India’s industrial advancement.
Nano is one of the fruits of this new industrial enhancement, thanks to Ratan Tata’s capability. Ratan Tata has many a surprise to unveil when Nano takes to the street, bustling through busy urban traffic.
The name “Nano” is no fluke, and one surprise that the car project will unveil is of its advanced technology component springing from science-based technology. India — perhaps the world at large — is keenly waiting for this story to unfold: the industrial story that incorporates Dr Bhabha’s dream.
In an elaborate lecture “Science and Problems of Industrial Development”, Homi Bhabha advocated creating a strong base of modern science and indigenous technology in India.
“The question (is) whether a self-generating industry can be established without establishing a powerful scientific base,” he observed. The answer was in the negative.
Indian industries’ development had so far proceeded on the basis of setting up plants and industries almost exclusively with foreign collaboration, he said. And added that nuclear industry’s experience, however, “makes it quite plain that this method can never lead to a self-generating industry without establishing a powerful scientific research and development effort to support it.”
Bhabha’s successors have carried forward his mantle and played a worthy role in bringing high-end technology to the aid of Indian industry by their scientific research and development.
The three premier nuclear R&D centres — BARC, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) and Centre for Advanced Technology (CAT) — have brought into the process of Indian industrial development an elevation through the products of their scientific R&D.
In fact, a close interaction between industry and the nuclear R&D centres is now part of the mandate for the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Atomic Energy.
Such advanced technologies as non-destructive materials’ testing and evaluation, lasers for industry and surgery, radioisotope-based tools and techniques, seamless welding, developing special material and alloys — light but strong — and robotic electronic devices, are among the boons from nuclear R&D centres.
Further, nuclear technology’s impact on industry has the distinction of imparting precision, stringent quality checks, and standards assurance to Indian industry.
Now, a new chapter has opened in science-backed technology elevation for industry by the office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Dr R.Chidambaram, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, together with the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet (SAC-C).
Their first commendable plank is to bridge the gap between industry and public sector R&D agencies such as those belonging to atomic energy, space, defence and agriculture. Among the first to benefit from this industry-public sector R&D interaction is the automobile sector.
A core advisory group on automative R&D (appropriately called CAR) was constituted in April 2003, with leading automobile industry representatives, including the chief designers of Tata Motor’s Indica/Indigo and Mahindra’s Scorpio and eminent scientists. Included in CAR is Dr S.M, Shahed, an NRI (ex-President of Society for Automative Engineers), and Prof S. Mohan of the Indian Institute of Science is the Chairman.
CAR has set very high goals in technology enhancement for the automobile sector — from two-wheelers through cars to heavy vehicles. One of its first actions has been to draw up a charter, creating a list of technologies that are critical to the development of world class automobile sector, and alongside, listing out top experts with an eye on building an automobile technology board.
The charter also seeks to draw up a “prioritised list of R&D programmes” that need to be taken up. The concept is to identify emerging frontier technologies in the automobile sector on which R&D has to be focussed.
The strength of the software industry in India is to be availed for the needs of the automobile industry so as to use this synergy to develop international expertise in the emerging area of automative electronics and controls.
Tomorrow’s car, with 40 per cent of its functions performed by microprocessors and sensors, is going to be a virtual computer on wheels. So work has to be done on advanced materials, telematics, low-cost safety, new fuels like hydrogen and allied areas.
While there is little doubt that the entire automobile industry in India is immensely benefiting from the working of CAR, those constituents capable of integrating the new pool of high-end technology of global standards with their own R&D such as Ratan Tata’s dispensation, will gain the most.
Science and technology will here generate the right mix for the automobile sector, spreading out to all segments of Indian industry. That has been Homi Bhabha’s dream of India’s industrial advancement.
Nano is one of the fruits of this new industrial enhancement, thanks to Ratan Tata’s capability. Ratan Tata has many a surprise to unveil when Nano takes to the street, bustling through busy urban traffic.
The name “Nano” is no fluke, and one surprise that the car project will unveil is of its advanced technology component springing from science-based technology. India — perhaps the world at large — is keenly waiting for this story to unfold: the industrial story that incorporates Dr Bhabha’s dream.
Source: The Tribune
Tata's little car makes big impact
The Nano won't make a formal appearance until October but its presence is already being felt in India's second-hand car lots
It was only unveiled last month and won't hit India's road until October, but Tata's diminutive Nano, the world's cheapest car, has already sent prices on the country's second-hand lots sharply into reverse.
With small cars accounting for more than 75 per cent of second-hand sales in India, prices of used basic models have plummeted by as much as a third in a matter of weeks, according to dealers.
"The Nano is having a very large impact on sentiment," Arif Fazulbhoy, director of Fazulbhoy Motors, one of Bombay's largest dealerships, said. "Tata did a great job in marketing it, people know they will be able to book one soon, and now buyers are happy to sit on the fence."
Designed to replace the cheap two-wheelers that swarm India's streets, the 33bhp two-cylinder Nano is priced at 100,000 rupees (£1,250), excluding taxes. The base model will cost about 130,000 rupees on the road - a sum that would buy a stereo system for a BMW.
According to Mr Fazulbhoy, the price of a second-hand Maruti 800, a model first launched in 1984 and a stalwart among India's very cheapest cars, has fallen by about 30 per cent since the Nano's launch at the Delhi Auto Expo on January 10. A five-year-old 800 now goes for about 75,000 rupees, compared with about 110,000 rupees in December.
Behind the woes of India's Arthur Daleys stands the unprecedented media coverage garnered by the "people's car".
Tata said last week that the website it built to promote the Nano, which has been lauded in the Indian press as the country's first entirely home-grown automobile, received 10 million visitors last month, a figure the manufacturer claimed as a record. Observers say this "Nano effect" will prove crucial in India, a market where a consumer can easily dwell on a potential car purchase for a year.
"People are asking themselves – and us – why they should pay, say, 250,000 rupees for a new Maruti Alto, when they can wait and get a brand new Nano for less in a few months' time, a car that is actually bigger," Darius Lam, of the Indian edition of Autocar Professional, said.
Manufacturers are also being hit directly, with year-on-year sales of new Maruti 800s down 20 per cent in January – a month in which the start of a new registration year usually gives sales a boost.
Analysts expect more downward pressure as more manufacturers join the race to build budget runabouts for the emerging middle classes of Asia's developing economies – a trend that will worry environmentalists who have already attacked the Nano's potential to boost CO2 emissions.
The Renault-Nissan alliance is working on a potential £1,599 car in partnership with Bajaj Auto, the Indian motorbike giant. Volkswagen, perhaps the original "people's car producer, and Toyota, the world's largest carmaker, have also expressed interest in developing ultra low-cost models.
Separately, Tata said that it was happy with the progress it was making in talks to buy Land Rover and Jaguar from Ford, a deal likely to be worth about $2 billion (£1 billion). The increasingly acquisitive group vehemently denied reports that it had discussed sharing technology from Land Rover and Jaguar with Fiat, with which it already has a joint venture to make cars and engines in India and an alliance for trucks in Latin America and Europe.
The issue of how much technology support Ford will commit to Tata is thought to be one of the major potential hurdles in the ongoing negotiations.
Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
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