The Tata Nano earned its place in history as the cheapest car ever made, with a starting price of about $1,400 when it was first unveiled in 2008, before going on sale a year later. Think of everything about that much money can buy you, and then picture it buying you a brand-new car.
Quite something to digest? Well, for a lot of people it was. The cheapest car in the world turned out to be something that not many people actually wanted to own, and that tag turned out to be the Tata Nano's undoing. This despite the fact that the Nano car was actually the perfect city car, with a few shortcomings that weren't even dealbreakers.
The Tata Nano was made in India, aimed at first-time car buyers. It is a cheap, rear-engined hatchback intended for motorcyclists and scooter riders. Despite the compact size of the car, it's spacious to some extent allowing four occupants, if not five. The latest rumors doing the rounds hint at the Tata Nano returning as an electric car in Tata's home market of India. Hopefully, the Nano will sell better as a zero-emissions model.
Updated January 2023: We've updated this article with new information on the cheapest car in the world, the Tata Nano, including details on fresh contenders for the title.
Tata Motors grew into the third-largest manufacturer in India from humble beginnings. Tata was a big deal in commercial vehicles, starting with trains in 1945. The first car produced by this firm was the Tata Indica which was launched in 1998 during the Geneva Motor Show. It is a $35 billion organization with a broad scope of commercial, defense, and passenger vehicles in its portfolio.
Tata produced the Nano from 2008 to 2018. The company expected to sell about a quarter-million units of the car per year. The first year had around 7,000 units sold. From the 2016 to 2017 motor years, Tata was only selling 7,591 units. In the final year of production, which was 2018, Tata produced only one Nano.
You are probably wondering what makes this automobile the cheapest of all cars? Let's find out.
How Tata Cut Costs To Make The Nano So Cheap
The Tata Nano began its life as a 4-door hatchback. It is made out of very thin sheet steel making it extremely light weight. The car has custom headlights which were made just for the car, same as the taillights. There are no side mirrors on both sides of the car as it is only on the driver's side, but the left side can be installed as an accessory.
The car has only one windshield wiper instead of the two present in a regular car. There is no external fuel sealer. The fuel sealer is accessed by opening the hood of the car. It has 12 inches wheels with three lug nuts each, again as a way to save costs and weight.
The Nano Was Extremely Spacious On The Inside
The Tata Nano is a rear-engined car with a 2-cylinder 624cc engine located under the rear seat, and it is accessed by removing the rear seat. It is a right-hand-drive car, and the battery is fixed under the seats. Initially, the Nano's 80-liter trunk was only accessible from the inside. The boot only got an actual opening hatchback later on its life. The Nano's front trunk was used to store the spare wheel.
At its launch, the base model of the Tata Nano not only didn't have air conditioning, but it also didn't have heat or any ventilation. The only form of ventilation was by rolling down the windows! The car had unassisted steering and unassisted brakes. The doors of the Tata Nano are very thin and had the simplest of door cards on them. The base model of the Tata Nano lacked airbags and a passenger-side mirror.
In the higher variants of the Tata Nano, such as the Tata Nano Deluxe, there are power windows for the front only, air conditioning, and power steering.
The Tata Nano Offered Sub-Par Performance And Compromised On Safety
The Tata Nano has a 624cc engine producing about 37 HP, which is pretty good since the car has a small size and produces 61Nm of torque at 4,000 RPM. The car has a curb weight of 1,400 lbs. It also has a 4-speed manual transmission. The higher variant of the car has a 5-speed AMT gearbox. The top speed of the car is about 55 MPH. The fuel economy of the Tata Nano was rated at just under 60 mpg!
That said, the Tata Nano had sluggish performance. It was also deemed too light to control well. Fast wind or fast-moving heavy vehicles could literally shake the Nano.
Tata Motors expected to receive four stars safety rating from the New Car Assessment program but received zero ratings due to its failure to meet basic safety requirements. Due to this, the Tata Nano doesn't exist in Europe or the United States, or other places with safety regulations.
Why The Tata Nano Failed To Live Up To The Hopes And Dreams
When the Tata Nano finally discontinued ten years after its introduction, it hadn't really lived up to the vision of the manufacturer. Despite being the cheapest car ever to exist, priced under $1,500 at launch to just over $4,500 for a fully-loaded variant in its final year, the Tata Nano didn't sell well. How did a car with the reputation of being so inexpensive fail to sell?
The thing is, you can't build your reputation around being cheap and not expect to carry with you some negative connotations. No affluence was associated with the car, no status, no prestige. It was a car with a low-status symbol. Everything about the Tata Nano was very diminutive. You can't even have one now because Tata Motors has ceased to produce the Tata Nano since 2018.