India's giant Tata Group unveiled yesterday a US$2,500 car it bills as the world's cheapest amid predictions the compact, no-frills vehicle could revolutionize how the country of 1.1 billion people travels.
The four-door car, which has five seats and is due to hit the market later this year costing just 100,000 rupees (US$2,500) excluding tax, is aimed at Indians hoping to trade up from a motorcycle to four wheels.
The Tata "Nano" -- which looks extremely similar to a Smart car -- has a small, rear-mounted 25kw 624cc engine.
BASICS
The basic model has no air conditioning, no electric windows and no power steering, although two "deluxe" versions will be available.
Tycoon Ratan Tata, the 70-year-old who heads the tea-to-steel group, compared the car's introduction to a landmark in the history of transportation, on the same level as the first powered flight by the Wright brothers and the first lunar landing.
The car was unveiled at the annual Delhi car show to the theme from Stanley Kubrick's classic 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
ALL-USE
Tata said he wanted to make "a safe, affordable and all-weather transport -- a people's car, designed to meet all safety standards and emissions laws and accessible to all."
He said that it was "a car that most people said could not be manufactured at that price" and that Tata had stuck to its 100,000-rupee target price, but added VAT would be extra.
BETTER, SAFER
He also dismissed fears the Nano -- a name supposed to be both high-tech and to smack of smallness -- would herald more congestion and pollution, arguing the new car would be better and safer than most motorcycles on India's roads.
"Let me assure you and also assure our critics the car we have designed will meet all the current safety requirements ... and will have a lower pollution level than even a two-wheeler being manufactured in India today," Tata said.
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
RSS