It’s here, the world’s cheapest car. At only R17,000 you can now own your own set of wheels. Tata, the Indian automotive company has launched it’s new offering on the market known as the Nano. The question however, is how the company is able to make profit by releasing such a cheap vehicle?? How did they manage to reduce costs so that more people can own their own car? What we do know is that, the car does not have the luxuries of other, more expensive cars, such as air conditioning and electric windows, but has the car manufacturer sacrificed safety standards to break-even on their bottom line?
Tata predicts that it will sell up to 1 million cars in it’s first month, which means more cars on the road…and with traffic being as congested as it is already (it takes 45min to get across town), then I wonder what exactly our roads will look like when the Nano officially launches in South Africa in June.
If you’re wondering what’s happening under the hood, this is an excerpt taken from the official press release :
“the People’s Car has a rear-wheel drive, all-aluminum, two-cylinder, 623 cc, 33 PS, multi point fuel injection petrol engine. This is the first time that a two-cylinder gasoline engine is being used in a car with single balancer shaft. The lean design strategy has helped minimize weight, which helps maximize performance per unit of energy consumed and delivers high fuel efficiency. Performance is controlled by a specially designed electronic engine management system. “
That isn’t much power if compared to other makes and models currently on our roads, so it should curb speeding..
Other than that, the benefit of this vehicle is that it’s accessible to everyone…
[via: thewheelthing]
I remember reading about this a couple of days ago. It’s being released in India, right? Kind of puts me in mind of the Yugo that was released here in the States in the 80′s… didn’t pan out well, but was very cheap.
Seems like a death trap to me. I cant imagine the safety features are anything special. Cheap though….
The biggest benefit this car will bring is added competitive pressure with other vendors. I believe we are still being ripped off when it comes to car sales in this country and something that shakes the industry as much as Tata are hoping it will, can only bode well for the consumer’s pocket.
Uno’s did really well in this country and they were from the generation without air-bags and all the rest.
How many times haven’t we heard someone say “I just need a car that gets me from A to B with no bells and whistles”
Now more people can afford cars… great. More traffic for me, just what I need!
Anyways, I’ve read a couple of articles stating the Nano’s cruising speed will be 45km/h – it CAN go faster, but I don’t think you would want to.
Another thing is that I’m not so sure it will comply with the SA road safety standards, add the safety features and you pay more for the car. But at 45km/h I guess you don’t need them anyways.
Although I’d rather buy a decent second hand car, I guess this is pretty cool for a hobby car – install mobile computer etc…
@mikster – Yes, it was released in India, and will be here in June. I’m not so sure that it’s going to pan out too well, but you never know.
@SaulK – I would not get in one of these in a million years! As you said.. death trap!
@Dono B – Bud, you’re spot on mate. If South Africans do jump at it and hundreds are sold, it will force other vendors to reduce prices, or at least that would be an ideal situation. It’s a slow car, but with the petrol price due to increase again, this car would be an ideal solution in terms of petrol consumption. 600cc – you could fill the tank up and drive for a month ;) Guess it’s a good one if you live really closse to work. Another thing I thought of was that someone could purchase one, even if they have another car, and just use it to get to work and then use their other car for longer distance driving..
@heino – Ye, lol, traffic would increase 10x if these things start getting sold at the drop of a hat. Well, if it’s being brought here in June, I’m pretty sure it would have been run through South African road safety already?
Best we can do is wait until June and see what happens ye?
Thanks for all the comments!
As far as I know, the new Tata Nano will not be available in South Africa for at least the next 2 years. The pricing will also be different due to import duties, VAT & shipping costs.
As a Tata dealership in South Africa we have been inundated with calls for the Nano. For now we have no pricing or final specs available to the South African clients and can also not give an exact date for launch in South Africa.
Our cheapest car is still the TATA Indica 1.4i LE @ R68 995. This car is a 5 door hatch with power steering standard. It also comes standard with a 2 year 45000 km service plan, 3 year factory warranty and roadside assistance… Still the best deal in South Africa.
For more information contact us at our Tata dealership in Mowbray, Cape town # 021 686 5558.
Jannie Ruppersberg
Sales Executive
Tata motors
Mowbray
Cape town
Jannie.. Thanks for the information, I love hearing the real story behind these things. It’s a pity it’s not coming though, as hoping that it would put some pressure on other manufacturers to reduce prices, as Don said.
I, personally, wouldn’t spend R70k on a TATA, even thought it’s cheap, a golf in my opinion is a safer bet. I really do need to buy a new car though. I was due to have one by now already, but certain circumstances prevented me.
Thanks for popping in!
Can it carry a drumkit?
if not, would it be safe if i hooked up a tow bar?
Haha! I am not sure you’d be able to fit a drum kit in there! The kit would probably weigh the car down too much to hill start on a slant ;)
well it certainly is cheap!!i suppose for those that cannot afford transport at the moment this would be ideal!!its cheap on fuel and you certainly not going to get any speeding fines he!! he!!!he!!!,but in fairness at least they are trying to help the less fortunate and i say go for it!!Chris if you read this,you say you would not buy the Indica Tata for R68,995 you would feel safer with a Golf,i just want to know if this is a preferance or if you have taken the Indica for a test drive,why i ask is that i felt the very same as you and my best friend bought one,and i was very pleasantly surprised!!it makes me realise just how overpriced most of the cars on our roads are,anyway best of luck with what ever you buy.
Lynn, I agree, most cars are way over priced. I ordered a Polo Trendline at the end of last year and unfortunately had to cancel it, for reasons I’m not able to mention publicly yet. The Trendline is such a stunning car, drives so smoothly and safely. I have been in an Indica and I can’t say it’s a terrible car, that would be unfair, but VWs are build a lot stronger, which I feel is way important. I may be wrong, don’t get me wrong, I’m not all rehearsed on this topic.
Strong body and airbags are key these days in my opinion, wish I could afford a Merc! ;)
Thanks for popping in Lynn :)
How is it possible for this to happen. Could you imagine the traffic, the chaos, the accidents!!! This car it not safe in any standards. For R20 000 you can still find a decent car with a hard body thats 50 tims safer then the barby doll wannabe smart car called the naNO!!!
I agree, there would be TONS of extra cars on the road and I somehow feel that we can correlate that to the quality of driving with regards to the price of the vehicle. I get the feeling that the people purchasing a car like this would most probably be the type of person who doesn’t drive too well – I don’t want to elaborate how I came to this conclusion, it’s just something I thought of!
Thanks for popping in!
yip!i own a mazda Rx8 and its pretty safe with all the airbags,and all fancy braking systems etc,and i must admit i do feel safer as opposed to driving a (cheapie!!!)sorry guys please do not take it the wrong way,but the more you spend the more you get!!my sister has the Mercedes soft top,it is gorgeous but cost R750,000!!!so you get what you pay for.I perosnally feel that ALL cars no matter what you pay for should have at least 2 air bags,but then again it will push the prices higher,i have 8 Airbags in my Rx8 and i do feel very safe especially the way it handles on the road.
Rx8 is a lovely car, was in one not too long ago! Very comfortable and still nice and sporty. I completely agree with you, with cars, it’s worth spending more money and getting a stylish car with all the added features, including safety and also the better cars usually have better agents for servicing and the likes.
I’m going to hopefully get a car in the next month or two, can’t wait!
I THINK IT IS SUPER, JUST THINK OF HOU MANY CHILDREN CAN DRIVE SAFLY TO SCHOOL, AND HOU MANY WOMEN AND OLD PEOPLE CAN DRIVE IN TOWN.
I HOPE IT WILL BE LAUNCHED IN SA VERY FAST BECAUSE I WANT TO BUY ONE MYSELF
Well Jaani, we have at least the next 2 years without our roads being littered by your children, women and old people :)
Haha, very true, the longer the better IMO :)
heino – how you doing bud?
Hey! Starting a new job on the 11th of Feb, very excited! But it’s in town, explaining my super-fear/hate of more cars on the road :P
Ah ya, traffic.. this morning is was so hectic I almost pulled over to take a nap!
All the best with the new job bud! What you going to be doing?
I THINK THAT THIS CAR WILL JUST CAUSE MORE CHAOS ON THE ROADS BECAUSE IT IS FAR TO SLOW! AND I ALSO THINK THAT PEOPLE ARE PUTTING THEIR LIVES AT RISK WITH THIS CAR. JUST BECAUSE IT IS CHEAP DOESNT MEAN THAT YOU MUST BUY IT. THERE ARE MANY OTHER REASONS WHY YOU BUY A CAR NOT JUST FOR THE PRICE! EG;Safety!
So if you are considering buying this car GOODLUCK!
Hehe, I think some people would purchase the car because cars are so incredibly over priced and not everyone can afford one. I must admit that there’s no way this car can be safe enough, but the proof will be in the pudding :)
i like the car it is for learnes and i want to buy it not so long
This car is designed for INDIAN roads first and everyone else later. TATA dont only sell cars, and they dont really care if they bring it to SA. the indian market is big enough for them to kp them busy for a few years.
Yes there are fears about more cars than the roads can handle, but iv lived in India too, and iv had the opportunity to drive there! and hell yeah its true… if u can drive in India, u can drive ANYWHERE!!!
If u know anything about India, then u that most ppl use bikes. im talking MILLIONS of bikes and scooters which equal millions of decision makers on the road. and THAT is where the biggest issue lays, in the amount of decision makers on the road. I think the Nano will do GREAT to reduce the number of decision makers in traffic, by putting 4 ppl in one vehicle instead of 4 vehicles!
Would love to buy 6 to 10 of these things and start a BUDGET car rental company for foreign students at UCT!
I wonder……wud a person need a licence to drive this thing? I know in Belgium they have cars there that go a max speed of about 60km/h and those do not require a licence to drive/own.
Any thoughts….?
Hehe, in South Africa you would need a license, I mean you even need a license to drive a scooter :)
how much aregoing to pay monthly installment for this car and when are you going to sell it here at Mzantsi we mst pay cash and how long is it gonna be 17,000 plz reply.
u mst answer i’m stl waiting for reply pls i need this info
andiswa, there is a lot more to it when it comes to monthlies on a car bud, this is something you should ask a motor place about. I would say a couple hundred rand most probably..
i would really like to know when one of these is going to be available in South Africa is it in June 2008? please reply thank you
Hi Megan, I’m actually not sure if they’re even going to arrive here, since I first read about it, I’ve heard very little since :/
Hey you guys this car acctually got a 4 star rating on NCAP that is not bad at all.
4 Star rating, that’s impressive! I wonder when it will become available!?
ok! yes it is Cheap but yet not safe. We can’t always get everything we want. It suits me just fine. Where can i get one?????? Thanks!
I must agree, this sort of car in an impact would not come out on top :/ Not sure where they are on sale, I tried finding out but did not have much luck *shrug*
Something us LITTLE people can afford. Like me!!!! Will it become available here. What will the financing be on this little machine???
Fair enough, what about the Ford KA?
i think the tata nano would be a perfect addition to our south african roads there is no need to rush if you leave home with enough time i have been driving in jhb for years i hardly ever get to 100 i keep to the left and give all tous that drive faster way before they get stuck behind me i have never needed an airbag even tou i have been in a few accidents, i know the nano would work but the major car manufacturers would bid against bringing it in like they did with the cheap imports in the pass
Good luck to tata
i say bring the nano to S-A more of the black comunity will buy thier own litle nano and that will result in less taxis on ouer roads. I dont like getting stuck in trafic but it wil stil be better then geting struck by a taxi.the up side is there we just need to look at it.And exept for the taxis getting less on the road.There is a lot of small towns in south-africa where there is no such thing as trafic so the nano will work perfect there its just in the citys where the nano will be a problim and i dont think it will make trafic all tha worst we get stuck treveling at 20 kmh as it is and the nano will do more than 20kmh so it wont be that bad.Lets invite the nano and give it a fear go.
Its 2009 already… where are they? hmmm… Maybe the ship got Hijacked by pirates..
Ye, I don’t know hey, I’ve heard nothing new since I published the post :(
Knowing the South African car industry this car will never be the R 17 000. I went to a Tata dealership and asked approximetly howmuch this car will be in Soth Africa and they said it will be about R 45 000. True to the greed of South African. With there allways having an excuse to make the price of the car more.
I understand what Bra Hugh is saying i did a bit of a check and all south african car dealership is over charging the publick the prices of caars can drop with 20% and stil make a cilling on the stuf. So ja. You can buy the car in China or India and stil import it for cheaper then it is sold in south africa.
Very interesting Bra Hugh, that’s literally 300% more than it should retail for, dissapointing!
Before we make accusations of greed let’s look at the facts.
You can buy the car from the factory in India for R17 000.
Now do the following sums.
Shipping a car from India to SA: R14 000 per car. (If you ship a minimum of 100)
Import duties: R3 400 per car.
Trucking the cars from Durban harbour to the various outlets: R900 per car.
Prepping the car for retail: R1900.
Just the above costs a total of R37 200
Now add the dealers cost (Commision, etc.)@ 5%:
R2000
This leaves you with a grand total of R39 200.
So… at R45 000 per car in South Africa it looks like a fair deal to me.
Alternatively you can go buy one in India. But because you are only importing 1 shipping and import duties will nearly double!
Nothing is for free gents… nothing.
The shiping is not R14 000 i work in the import export indastry i will bring 10 cars in for R14 000 so there your out already so nope dont think your sums add up.
All well and good about the anylisis of the how the pricing is structured. Time is passing abt this vehicle and I dont think its a call it a consiperacy theory but the proof is in the pudding.
Look at the cars that come from china and Japan that can only be sold to other african countries it is ilegal to purchase these cars in SA.WHY?… “CARTELS”…
I am aware abt the impact it has on our local economy…but come on…Price fixing of bread……
I dont think it takes a rocket scientist to predict the fate of the Nanao..
I Did a bit of research today and ouer goverment dont want the car to be sold in south africa thy say it does not comply with ouer safty standards. So it wont be comming to south africa anytime soon.
Dont get me wrong Im not palying South Africa down but there is always an excuse . If they have read the reviews abt the Nano it has a high safty rating. I dont think Tata would introduce a car with no safty features. “Someone”…The other manufacturers… is pushing the buttons for this car not to come to South Africa.
They r going to make it impossible fot the car to come 2 come 2 South Africa wth accuse after accuse…
Now the car componet market is develpoing in South Africa hence even if TATA decides to bring it 2 the “South African” safty standards in South Africa this will increase the cost of the car.
Besides if govermnent says it is not safe “Where is the SABS report?” when hve they been the experts in testing standrads and safety features…
Unless we have another case of corrupt officials in the SABS like the CONDOM scandel.
I am definately interested in buying one of these cars.
Please tell me when and where I can go to buy one.
I don’t know who the best person to contact is, unfortunately, but please do let us know if you figure it you Colleen :)
Guys there has been alot of intrest in this car. Would it not be possible for a group of us, forming a Co-Operative formally and legally. Then going over to India and purchase one container load of Nanao’s for ourselves. Obviously we will research the inplications such as , tax, duties, licencing…etc.etc…
How possible is this?
1. TATA India will not sell the car for export as they have an agreement with Accordian investments as the only importers of TATA products to SA.
2. If you do bring one in you will not be able to get a roadworthy certificate as the SABS has not approved the vehicle for our roads.
3. It is also no use to own a car that has no spare parts available in SA and you will not have any warranty whatsoever if anything should go wrong with it.
4. Servicing ??
Rather spend the money on a Vespa. Far safer, sexier and it reaches a top speed of 140kms! (on a slope)
My first “car” was a brand new Datsun Bakkie which cost me R1600! No frills. Rubber mats. Very, very basic, but affordable. (And cost me R2.00 to fill the tank)
I was looking at cars and bakkies on show at the Paarl Mall the other day. They have all the mod-cons and cost the earth. There is absolutely no ways that I could buy a new car today. I asked one of the salesmen why they no longer produced a basic car and he said there was no demand!!!!!! In his dreams.
But somehow I don’t think the Nano will be allowed in our market. The manufacturers and dealers WANT expensive cars. A few years ago SA plants were producing a very basic car for France. It wasn’t available here.
Not up to our safety standard!!!!! What garbage. It will be a lot safer than my old rusty Corolla and I cannot afford to replace. And that goes for many car-owners in our country. I would rather see Nano’s on the road. As long as they have seat-belts.
And, anyway, most of our drivers do not conform to safety standards anyway.
Latest report which drew my attention to this nifty little car is on yahoo news:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090323/ts_afp/indiacompanyautotata_20090323144905
Wonder if they can be used as taxis?
I support this car 100% If I was employed and earning a high salary a Golf or an Indica would be great. But until then I have no option but to take my chances with my Corolla. There are a lot of poor people in this country.
(And the number of people who want to buy my Corolla, dents and all………….)
Of course, a market for an even cheaper car exists.
As for safety features, Tata unveiled a Nano Europa spec at the recent Geneva show.
I can feel the Nano comming closer and closer to South Africa.
Tell me MisterPlod….When do you predict the coming of this vehicle to South Africa? Since it has passed the Europeon Standards.
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHEN THE NANO PEEOPLES CAR IS AVAILABLE IN SOUTH AFRICA PLEASE MY EMAIL IS KOBUSB@KDWIP.COM , GREETINGS , KOBUS
I also want to know when can we start ordering this car.
MandyCu@Nedbank.co.za
I want to buy a car,but prb is I only hav saved R15000,any1 who want to help or giv advise of where can I find new wheels for my self @ that price…pls reply,(plzzz..don’t tell me about the nino car)