Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car with a price sticker of $3,250 tax inclusive, drew hundreds of Indians at this year's Auto Expo in New Delhi. The attention is overwhelming but watchers in the auto industry fear that the car's arrival would exacerbate the country's mass transit condition.
"This is a good day for India," said Rajesh Bindal, a paint salesman who graced the launch of the Tata Nano. "Now everyone can afford to travel safely in comfort, to be modern."
How affordable is the Nano? The four-seat jellybean-shaped vehicle, dubbed the new People's Car, is less than half of today's cheapest auto. The Nano, which is expected to open India's improving middle class market, will be available in the territory this fall. But it won't be available in the United States or anywhere outside India anytime soon, said Tata Motors.
Ratan Tata, 70, said he came up with the idea of an ultra-cheap car after seeing a family of four perched on a small scooter braving city traffic. "It led me to wonder whether one could conceive of a safe, affordable, all-weather form of transport for such a family," Tata said at the opening ceremony of the expo.
But some critics fear the anticipated repercussions of the super-cheap car. They said the car could give more menace than miracle in India. They expect the car would contribute significantly in chaotic traffic, pollution, deprived roadways, and other concerns, reported The San Francisco Chronicle.
"The Nano is giving me nightmares," said Rajendra Pachauri, 2007 Nobel laureate and chairman of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. "Let's not fool the public. This car will not substitute for two- or three- wheelers but is only going to add to the confusion, road snarls and pollution."
According to a 2004 U.N. survey, India is the fifth-largest producer of carbon emissions around the globe, releasing 250 million tons annually. The figure, to note, is more than any European country. What's more, the territory's carbon emissions are expected to triple by 2020.
A study conducted by the New Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment found that average vehicle speed in the city plummeted to nine miles per hour in 2002 from as much as 21 miles per hour in 1997. The decline is blamed mainly on the rise of compact cars. The study added the trend toward cheap vehicles will only aggravate congestion and smog-related illnesses.
In addition, what is more alarming is the increasing number of automakers which have expressed their plans of producing super-cheap cars. Renault SA, a French automaker, is in talks with India's Bajaj Auto to manufacture compact cars bearing a $3,000 price sticker. Automakers such as Ford Motor Co., Volkswagen AG, Honda Motor Co., Hyundai Motor Co., and Suzuki Motor Corp., have opened auto factories in India. Would the maker of go with the production of super-cheap cars trend? That's for the industry to see.
Environmentalists, meanwhile, are waiting for some solid proof of the car's aftereffects. "If the Nano takes over the market from gas guzzlers, then that's not really a problem," said Soumya Rahut, a spokesman for Greenpeace India. "This could be a boon, or a bane, depending on what it replaces."
