Tata Nano

The Tata Nano is a four-seater micro-car in the Indian car manufacturer Tata Motors. The vehicle was unveiled at the 9th New Delhi Auto Expo on 10 January 2008 and was originally supposed to come in September 2008 in Indian market. After a slight delay the first Nano LX in Mumbai was handed over in person on 17 July 2009 at the Indian customs officer Raghunath Vichare by Ratan Tata. Vichare had won in a lottery the right to buy the first Nano.

Concept

The vehicle was initially (about 1,440 euros ) plus any taxes applied with a purchase price of 100,000 iR, making it the cheapest car in the world. Accordingly, it was known prior to the announcement of its brand name as " one lakh car " (one hundred thousand - car).

As a marketing campaign, the first copies were not sold, the purchase authorization for the first 100,000 vehicles was raffled off, which is more than the preliminary annual capacity. Only for this quantity, the price of 100,000 iR was guaranteed, in mid-2012, the car offered depending on the region from about 150,000 iR ( approximately € 2,160 ).

The low price is made possible mainly by the following factors:

• No installation of comfort elements ( power steering, second side mirrors, air conditioning, car radio, electric windows)
• Abandonment of some security technologies (airbags, ABS )
• The greatest possible amount of plastic instead of metal sheet processing
• Glued in place of welded chassis and body connections
• Low labor and material costs in the country of India

Sideview

Tata Motors expected before the introduction of a demand of one million vehicles annually. This number has not been achieved to some extent also due to lack of manufacturing capacity, in the best-ever year, 2011, there were about 70,000 vehicles, still behind two other models of the manufacturer. The reason is particularly true that a car is still considered in this price range in the Indian middle class at the time as " poverty proof".

In February 2009, Ratan Tata announced certifiable in Europe version that was exhibited at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2009 and was released in 2010.

The sales success remains well short of expectations. The final assembly in Sanand has a monthly capacity of 24,000 units, sales are estimated in early 2013 with less than 20 % of capacity.

Technology

The Nano is equipped with a two-cylinder engine in the rear, a proprietary development with the support of FEV in Aachen. The petrol version has a displacement of 623 cc and develops an output of 26 kW ( 35 hp ), the diesel engine has the same displacement, but only 20 kW ( 28 hp ); reportedly are both water cooled. The transmission has four gears and originates from the Indian two wheeler manufacturer Kinetic. A version with a continuously variable transmission from the same manufacturer is also provided which is considered cost-effective solution and keeps the engine in a low speed range.

Consumption is specified by the manufacturer, which is a legal Indian test cycle lies at the bottom, at 23.6 km / l ( 4.24 l/100 km). The top speed is 105 km / h The vehicle is equipped on both axles with drum brakes (180 mm diameter).

A boot that provides " space for a briefcase ", located in front of the front axle and at once holds the fuel tank filler neck, which own tank opening is unnecessary. Another storage space, is only accessible from the inside, behind the back seat. The trunk size is specified with 30 liters. In the case of the Nano in 2012, the capacity now stands at 80 and 500 liters (without / with rear seat folded down ).

In December 2009, the development of a hybrid version was announced.

Security

The Nano meets the applicable statutory safety regulations in India, which are based on the European. Included is a frontal crash at 48 km / h and compliance with the ECE R-12 specification. To demonstrate that the nano can also meet European requirements, a crash test was conducted in July 2009 in Birmingham by the British vehicle registration authority. For this purpose, the structure of the vehicle in the front and in the doors was slightly reinforced and installed a driver's airbag, which increases the vehicle weight by 18 kg. This consisted of nano- frontal crash with 40 % overlap and 56 km / h according to the standard ECR -94 and meets current European standards. In India, similar rules will apply from 2012.

For the European market, Tata wants to develop by 2012 a further development of the Nano, the larger ( 15 cm long, 5 cm wide ), and more motorized ( turbo engine with 42 kW and five-speed gearbox) will be. With this model, Tata seeks four stars by Euro NCAP to.

In autumn 2009, it was reported on short circuits in the electrical system of some of the 7500 vehicles. Tata spoke of " small [r ] smoke ". In addition, be by a "little short " scorched fire-resistant plastic parts in electronics for operation of windshield wipers and lights.

Supplier

• Bosch: injection, brake systems and parts of the Auto Electrical System
• Freudenberg: engine mounting
• Mahle: Camshaft
• Securit: glazing
• ZF Friedrichshafen: tie rods
• Kinetic: Gear
• BASF catalyst, synthetic engine components and paint,