Tata Nano goes to Sanand, Gujarat

West Bengal’s loss is Gujarat’s gain. It was announced yesterday that the Tata Nano project for the Nano ultra-cheap car would move to Sanand, Gujarat. Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has rolled out the red carpet for the people’s car.

Ratan Tata

Ratan Tata

Ratan Tata chose Sanand, 30 kms away from Ahmedabad, for the Tata Nano project after examining possible locations in Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The overall clicmate in Gujarat has been extremely favorable to industry. That, and the fact that the general populace of the state is in favor of industrialisation were important factors in enabling Narendra Modi to allocate 1100 kilometers for the Nano project.

The Tata Nano project location in Sanand boasts of close connectivity to National Highway-8 connecting Rajkot and Ahmedabad. The Nano site is also close to the proposed Dholera port, which is being set up as an industrial development project as part of the implementation of Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor. This could mean that if the Tatas need to export the Nano, they wouldn’t have to go far.

Equally exciting for the Tatas is the reception the company has got from farmers who said they were ready to give their land for construction of approach roads to the site. The land made available to Tata Motors is from the Anand Agricultural University.

The Sanand plant will also have the convenience of being close to Rajkot where a slew of Nano components would be made at different ancillary units. Unlike the situation in Singur, local people and the political leadership expects all that is good to come to their doorstep as the chance of a boom in economy is more that they ever thought as the Nano gets ready for the roll out.

The Nano project in Sanand will have the manufacturing capability of 250,000 cars in a year initially.

Ratan Tata expressed his happiness at things moving so quickly after the disappointment of Singur, West Bengal where the protesting farmers affiliated to the opposition Trinamool Congress party successfully froze the project. The benefits offered by the Gujarat government to Tata Motors are slightly better that what the West Bengal government offered to Tata Motors, he added.

It may take Tata Motors a bit of time to set up the plant in Sanand, and commence actual manufacturing. Meanwhile, Ratan Tata said the company would try to meet the production deadline for the Nano small car - it is believed that the intiial Nanos would be produced at the Pantnagar plant of Tata Motors, and production would shift to the Sannd plant only after the plant is set up and the ancillaries manufacturers have succesfully moved in and started operations too.

Initially, Sanand would see production of the petrol Tata Nano cars, and later more variants, such as diesel, electric and CNG versions of the Nano would be produced here.

Pictorial Preview on Indicruz Crossover

Ever since Tata expressed its desire of building a crossover with the Xover and Indiva concept speculations started raising from every quarters. Slowly spy pictures of the crossover (Indicruz) started appearing but it took shape when Tata Motors itself announced that would soon launch a crossover between safari and sumo. Mr Krishnan VP (Commercial), Tata Motors confirmed the same to us. When we started digging out information on Indicruz crossover we got a surprise gift. Our eagle eyed reader Yogesh caught Indicruz and the next generation indigo in Pune - Solapur Highway close to the Tata motors plant. We give you an exclusive preview on Tata’s indicruz crossover with few undisguised pictures sourced from Auto CZ.

Pictures of Indicruz Crossover

Tata indicruz crossover: In the age when SUV’s are failing to move away from the showrooms, its logical for Tata Motors to produce a crossover especially when it wish a place in European markets. According to the books, Crossover is a vehicle which is designed to lookalike a SUV but offers comfort like a car with good handling chracteristics and fuel efficiency. Tata which is enjoying a fair amount of success with the gas guzzling Safari SUV is looking for the Indicruz Crossover to fight against Innova and upcoming ingenio.

Tata indicruz crossover: The styling of the indicruz is typically Tata and follows the rule book of MUV’s. There is nothing to excite at the same time nothing looks odd. The rakish profile and sloping roofline is as typical of any MUV. Remember, Tata plans to sell Indicruz in european market as well and hence there are subtle european styling cues as well. The high bonnet line which emanates from under the trapezoidal grille will ensure this Indicruz comply european pedestrian safety norms. On the sides of the bonnet line are mounted pull back headlamps sourced from new Indica Vista. The bonnet line goes backwards all the way to merge with belt line which ends at the rear. Though the shoulder line is less pronounced flared up wheel arches gives a elegant side profile. The large rear windscreen is bounded by christmas tree tail lamps on both sides. Overall styling of the indicruz is typically Tata and follows the rule book of MUV’s.

Tata indicruz crossover: Is expected to be powered by the same 2.2L DICOR engine which currently serves under Safari and Sumo Grande. The VTT (Variable Turbine Technology) engine will be mated with a 5-speed gearbox. Tata may also strap a FIat Sourced petrol engine under the indicruz hood.

Tata indicruz crossover: According to Auto, the IndiCruz is 4.85 meters long with a wheelbase of 2.85 meters. Good enough to hold three row of seats. However the usablity of third row depends on the packaging strength of Tata Motors. Going by the history of Tata products, we hope that the Indicruz would be a true eight seater.

Tata indicruz crossover:

Tata indicruz crossover: will not replace the safari as quipped by new but will co-exist with the Sumo Grande and Safari DICOR. We expect the price of the Indicruz Crossover to be around Rs10 lakhs

Tata Nano Specifications and features

Here’s consolidated specifications and features list of tata nano.

engine - Tata Nano

* two cylinder, 633cc petrol engine with MPFI

* maximum power output - 33PS at 5500 rpm

* maximum torque output - 48.9Nm at 2500rpm

* estimated top speed - more than 100kmph

* estimated mileage of nano - more than 20kmpl

Dimensions - Tata Nano

Length - 3.1 metres

breadth - 1.5 metres

height - 1.6 metres

wheelbase - 2.23 metres

Boot (bonnet) capacity - 150 litres

Fuel tank capacity - 15 litres

Suspension, brakes and tyres- Tata Nano

Mcpherson strut with lower A-arm at the front

Indepedent coil spring at the rear

135/70 tubeless tyre at the front

155/65 tubeless tyre at the rear on 12inch rims

Comfort features - Tata Nano

* Bucket seats for driver and front passenger

* front seats with integrated head rest

* seat pockets

* air conditioning

Safety features - Tata Nano

* crumple zone

* intrusion resistant doors

* seat belts

Variants / models - Tata Nano

* standard

* deluxe

Colours - Tata Nano

* red

* yellow

New Tata Indica launched at Auto Expo 2008

The new Indica, code-named X1 till now, has been launched by Tata Motors. The Indica which initially faced teething troubles after its launch several years back has improved tremendously over time in all departments. The new Indica takes the successful model a step further.



The new Indica will co-exist alongside the older Indica versions, but will be priced higher.

The most important thing you notice are the different looks. It is overall sleeker and smoother - and even the Tata grille is beginning to look better! The swept back headlamp cluster, and the full length tail lamp cluster look attractive indeed.

The new Indica has prominent wheel arches. The car will sport a 5 speed synchromesh gearbox with overdrive, bigger 175/65 R 14 tubeless tyres and a twist beam suspension.



Size: The new Indica is longer than the current version by 320mm. Width is 1695mm, height is a respectable 1550 mm, and the wheelbase has also been lengthened by 70mm to 2470 mm.

The rear windscreen, according to Tata, helps give the passengers a more spacious feel in the cabin.

The new Indica will also sport new diesel and petrol engines and a new suspension.

The car will be available in the market towards the second half of 2008. So if you like what you see and want to buy it immediately, you are out of luck. A minimum of 6 months wait for availability is what you are looking at.

The car will be offered with a new 1.3 litre Quadra-Jet Common Rail Direct Injection Diesel engine and a 1.2 litre Safire MPFI VVT Petrol engine, which will be manufactured at the new Tata-Fiat joint venture plant at Ranjangaon in Maharashtra, besides existing Tata powertrains.











ANOTHER REVIEW...

Tata Motors kept the buzz going around its stall at the Auto Expo 2008 by unveiling the new Indica V3 on the first day. The new Indica will come into the market by the middle of 2008 and would sell alaongside the current Indica but with a different name. The new Indica is light years ahead of the current Indica in terms of design and performance. It has a more proportionate and sporty stance with the front end getting extra stretched headlamps and a larger grille.

The car looks like its the old Indica on steroids, its pumped up. The new Indica would compete with the premium B segment hatchbacks including the Getz, Swift, Aveo-UVA and Palio. The interiors are still under development and were not opened to the media at the expo however the instrument cluster has been moved to the center, a trend which i dont quite approve of for more reasons than one.

The new Indica is longer and wider than the current model with more legroom inside. The new Indica would be powered by a 1.3 litre quadra jet common rail diesel engine (sourced from Fiat and the same engine which does duty in the Swift) and a 1.2 litre VVT petrol engine which would be manufactured at the Fiat-tata plant at Ranjangaon in Maharashtra. The new Indica would have larger 14 inch wheels with 175/65 spec tubeless tyres and finally the tyres fill up the wheelarch unlike the current Indica. The new Indica is likely to be priced between Rs.4 - 5 lakh and would be launched by the middle of 2008.

I am sure the new Indica would be a success no matter what its called but Tata Motors would need to keep in check the small niggling problems which crop up and the fit and finish which was not upto the mark on their show car at the Auto Expo (see picture of door rubber beading coming off)

MORE PICTURES OF THE NEW INDICA FROM THE AUTO EXPO 2008