Tata Motors Ltd does not build many cars like the Tata Nano: a 4-door saloon car / 5-door hatchback (GenX Nano) with 624 cc I2 SOHC MPI petrol, built from 2008 to 2018 in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. Its designer of record is Unbulleted_list|Justyn Norek / |Pierre Castinel / |Girish Wagh.
How it came about
The Tata Nano was a city car/microcar manufactured and marketed by Indian automaker Tata Motors from 2008 to 2018. It was primarily sold in India as an inexpensive economy car for motorcycle and scooter riders — with a launch price of ₹100,000 (US$2,500) on 10 January 2008. The Nano has a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout and was initially produced as a four-door saloon car with no rear cargo opening, with a five-door hatchback version introduced in 2015. Tata Motors projected production figures of 250,000 annually at launch. This was not achieved, and various factors led to a decline in sales volume, including delays during the factory relocation from Singur to Sanand, early instances of the Nano catching fire and the perception that the Nano was unsafe and lacked quality from its aggressive cost cutting.
Actual sales reached 7,591 for model year 2016-2017. The project lost money, as confirmed by former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry and by 2017 Tata Motors management. In 2017, Tata Motors said manufacturing would continue due to the company's emotional commitment to the project. Production was eventually halted in May 2018. The Sanand Plant subsequently manufactured other hatchbacks, including the Tiago and Tigor.
The hardware
Under the skin sits 624 cc I2 SOHC MPI petrol. Kerb weight is 600 -. The gearbox is a 4-speed manual / 5-speed AMT (2015+). The layout matters: the engine hangs behind the rear axle, a layout that gives ferocious traction out of a corner and a reputation to match on the way in. The wheelbase is 2230 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
Where it sits in Tata Motors Ltd's history is not in doubt: it was built at Gujarat, Sanand (Sanand Plant), India. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Nissan 370Z, the Tesla Roadster, the Volkswagen Tiguan. Its Tata Motors Ltd stablemates include the TaMo Racemo and the Tata 407.