Nano to hit Indian roads on Friday

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Source: www.ibnlive.com

Deliveries of the first Nano cars begin in the city on Friday, with Tata Group Chairman Ratan Naval Tata set to hand over to proud owners the keys of the small automobile that has been compared with Ford's Model T and the Volkswagen Beetle for the potential it holds in transforming the way people commute.
At 1745 hrs IST at the Concorde Motors Showroom in city's central district, the 71-year-old Chairman of the country's largest industrial house will also deliver on his promise of the world's least expensive car - an affordable, all-weather mode of transportation for Indians.
Over the next 18 months, Company Officials said, the first set of 100,000 owners in the final list of 206,703 applicants will drive away the jellybean-shaped car that is available in three variants - the "Standard", "CX" and "BX".
"Tata Motors reconfirms that the first 100,000 owners are price-protected and get their Tata Nano at the ex-showroom prices announced at launch on March 23," said the company that had promised the car for Rs100,000 ($2,000) at factory gates.
The ex-showroom price of the car varies between Rs 112,735 and Rs 185,375 for different variants. The first set of cars has been made at the group's Pantnagar factory in Uttaranchal, while the main plant is coming up at Sanand, near Ahmedabad, in Gujarat.
The four-door car has a small 33-bhp rear-mounted engine and is targeted at the strong middle class population of Indians who aspire to trade their two-wheelers for a safer automobile.
With a length of 3.1 metres, a width of 1.5 metres and a height of 1.6 metres, Nano also has adequate ground clearance and can effortlessly manoeuvre on busy roads in cities as well as in rural areas.