New Delhi: Nobody wanted to buy Ratan Tata's concept of a Rs 1-lakh-worth People's Car when he first talked of it. Some five years later, when Tata Motors finally unveiled the 'Nano', Tata's friends and foes are lapping up this tiny four-wheeler like their own.
The critics initially derided the concept mainly on the basis of the price target, more so as oil and steel prices rocketed. But Ratan Tata still kept his promise and delivered the Nano almost at his target price, forcing global car makers to take note. In fact, many top atomobile giants are now scurrying for their own versions to meet growing environmental and cost concerns.
The 'People's Car', which got critics and well-wishers all awestruck at Pragati Maidan on Thursday morning, is now not only being talked about as the 'future car'.
Expert say it will also determine India's place in the global automotive arena and possibly give a leap to India's dream of becoming a global hub of small cars.
The car, feel experts, is more than value for money with its 20 kmpl average and the smart price.
Here are the first reactions of some of the most prominent industry experts as they told to CNN-IBN and various news agencies.
Jagdish Khattar, former managing director, Maruti Suzuki
"The car is good to look at. There is a space in the market between two-wheelers and the 800 (Maruti's small car). It will be a success if they deliver what they promised. And I see no reason why they can't."
Ramesh Suri, Chairman, Subros
"The best thing is that they have kept the price at levels promised at concept stage. It is good to look at. I can't say about the driving experience as I have not taken a trial."
Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd
"We cannot make a cheaper car. We don't know how to make a Rs 1 lakh car unless we sacrifice something. We won't go below the 800 in our product line-up, but this car may impact some of our Maruti 800 sales"
Anand Mahindra, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd
"I think it's a moment of history and I'm delighted an Indian company is leading the way."
Venu Srinivasan, Chairman & Managing Director, TVS Motor Co
"It is fantastic, outstanding engineering. It helps redefine the sector in the country. It has established new grounds."
P Sam, Group Head, Marketing & Sales, Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt Ltd
"The Rs 1 lakh rupee car is not going to impact our potential customers. Our customers would buy our products for the sheer joy of riding."
Onkar Kanwar, Apollo Tyres Ltd
"I congratulate Tata. He has delivered what he promised."
P Balendran, Director and Vice President, General Motors India
"It's an exciting product. I don't think it will not affect small car market, but it may have an affect on the sales of two-wheelers and second-hand small cars."
Sylvain Bilaine, Managing Director, Renault India
"Tata's car is cute and he (Ratan Tata) is doing a great job. I would like to see in the coming months the retail price,"
Ashok Singh, Delhi Police Constable:
"It is a dream come true. I look forward to buying that car. My wife will be really happy."
G Colquhoun, Reader in Manufacturing Systems, School of Engineering, Liverpool
"This is an important step for Asian markets. I look forward to this car being introduced in European markets."
Next: People's Car — The Pros and Cons
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PROS AND CONS
Dubbed the "People's Car", Nano will sell for about $2,500 and should be in dealers' showrooms by September. So what are the pros and cons of the car that, supporters say, could revolutionise the transport scene in India?
SAFER THAN A SCOOTER
> Indian consumers bought about 7 million two-wheelers and 1 million cars in 2006/07. Tipping the ratio from scooters to cars, and so improving public safety on India's crowded and sometimes chaotic roads, was one rationale for creating the People's Car, according to Ratan Tata, the company's 70-year old chairman:
> "That's what drove me — a man on a two-wheeler with a child standing in front, his wife sitting behind, add to that the wet roads — a family in potential danger," Ratan Tata wrote on the company website.
THE PRICE
> Retailing for Rs 100,000 (or "one lakh"), Tata's rear-engine, 4-seater is expected to put automotive ownership within the grasp of the millions of young families who make up the country's aspirational middle class.
> At that price, it will cost less than half the cheapest car on the market now, the mini Maruti 800, and more than double an entry-level 100cc motorbike.
> Small cars, for years the best sellers in India, are being touted as a new global trend, with Renault's Logan entering new markets and India's Bajaj Auto, Renault and Nissan looking into the feasibility of a $3,000 car.
JOBS
> The Tata Group chief has said the car will be manufactured in three to four locations, including West Bengal and Uttarakhand states. A plant in Singur, in eastern West Bengal state, is expected to employ 10,000 people.
PROTESTS
> Farmers and activists staged violent protests at Tata Motor's Singur plant last February, saying local people were forced off prime farmland to make room for the plant. The government says it has compensated most of the affected farmers.
ENVIRONMENT
Environmentalists worry that a car so cheap could lead millions down what they see as the wrong road, with soaring car ownership damaging the environment and locking India into greater dependence on oil. India imports 70 percent of its crude oil.
Indian climate change expert RK Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, says the One Lakh Car is giving him 'nightmares'.
Anumita Roychoudhury, of the Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi, told The Observer newspaper she is worried that "we'll have a time bomb ticking away. When you lower the price that drastically, how will you be able to meet safety and emissions standards?"
She also told Reuters: "It's just not sustainable, whether from an environmental point of view or in terms of congestion."
Dispelling the myths that the car was not safe enough, Ratan Tata says: "The car has passed the full-frontal crash and the side impact crash." The car will meet Euro IV norms of emission.
Tata also allayed fears of high pollution, saying: "Pachauri will not have a nightmare and Sunita Narain can also sleep," he quipped.
(With inputs from agencies)
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