Tata Motors expects to sell its tiny Nano ‘people’s car’ in Europe, the company said on Thursday.

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Tata group chairman Ratan Tata told Automotive News Europe the business plan to make a profit on the project is to offer not just the basic low-cost car in India but also sell better equipped versions for more in international markets, though that won’t happen immediately.


“You can have a version that sells for two or three times the price of the base car,” he said. “I don’t see this, over time, being any less profitable than an ordinary car.”


ANE said Tata expects to sell the Nano in India only for the first two years or more before starting exports – top priority markets are Africa, Latin America and southeast Asia.


However, the paper said, the Nano was developed with Europe and other developed markets in mind. Tata told ANE the car would be equipped with bigger engines including diesels and more advanced features – the base version for India has a 33hp 624cc two-cylinder engine giving a top speed of 104km/h to 105km/h (about 65mph).

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Tata told Automotive News Europe that the Nano meets India’s current frontal-crash safety test and emissions standards, already meets Euro 4 emissions standards and was designed to meet the offset-frontal and side-impact tests international markets require.


“When we go to Europe, we will conform to all existing regulations,” Girish Wagh, head of the 500-member Nano product development team, said at the post-reveal press conference, according to ANE. Responding to a question, he added” “Yes, I said when.”