Tata pulling out all stops to investigate Nano fires

"Rather than jumping to a conclusion, we are having a thorough investigation," said Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Motors, referring to recent incidents of the Nano catching fire. He was addressing shareholders at the company's annual general meeting here on Wednesday.

"There are four or five cases of the Nano catching fire. We are going through a detailed investigation on each of them.

In some cases we found some foreign material on the exhaust system," Mr Tata said. "As and when we are able to determine the problem, we will give a response.we will make a statement. As far as I am concerned, there are 50,000 Nanos in the market. Four or five cases (of fire) do not indicate there is a problem with the car," he added.

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Auto in India

India is one of the few markets that saw growing passenger car sales during the recession of the past two years. In fact, in 2009-10, it recorded its highest volumes ever. A new KPMG report, The Indian Auto Industry: Evolving Dynamics, projects that the twin phenomena of low car penetration and rising incomes, when combined with increasing affordability of cars, will continue to drive India’s auto demand upwards. While quite a few new vehicles launched in the Indian market have been developed locally, vehicle affordability remains a significant concern. Although the price of an average motorcycle in India (about $900) is comparable to the average per capita income, the price of passenger cars have a long way to go. Although the entry level car (Nano) is priced at around $2,500, the passenger cars market could grow multi-fold if there is a breakthrough of another price level in the years to come.

In recent times, electric two-wheelers have ridden on the back of customer demand for vehicles with lower running costs, as well as some incentives to users in the form of little or no duties on electric vehicles (and parts) in areas such as New Delhi.

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Tata Motors to Debut Two Electric Vehicles in Europe by Next Year

Tata Motors is a lot of things--India's largest car manufacturer, producer of the $2,000 car (the Nano), and designer of the world's cheapest high-rise apartments. Now it appears that Tata can add another title to its ever-growing list: mainstream manufacturer of electric vehicles. Edmunds reports that Tata is planning to launch two electric vehicles in Europe by March of 2011.

The vehicles, set to launch first in the U.K. and Scandinavia, will reportedly include a variation of the Indica Electric as well as the Ace commercial mini-truck. The lithium-ion battery-equipped vehicles boast ranges of 120 miles and 110 miles per charge, respectively. 

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General Motors may launch electric vehicle in India

US car-maker General Motors [ Images ] on Friday said it would either launch or showcase an electric vehicle in the Indian market next year, but ruled out competing with the Tata Nano [ Images ] on price point.

The President and Managing Director of GM India [ Images ], Karl Slym, said here: "I would like to say that you will start to see opportunities for sale (electric vehicle) to you or demonstration (in India) next year."

He said this electric vehicle would be a "pure" GM car and not in collaboration with any other player. Asked if GM plans to launch a car to directly compete with the Tata Nano, Slym told reporters on the sidelines of the Karnataka [ Images ] government-organised Global Investors' Meet here, "It's true that we are looking at (launching) cars in various different segments." But he added, "I don't think it's fair to say we are trying to launch a Nano."

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