The year 2007 is coming to an end. Best wishes for 2008 to all my friends on the iland.

One of the most eagerly awaited launches/events of the year2008 has to be the People’s Car by Tata motors. We have been privy to a lot of speculations in the media. (A cynic like me will tell you the leaks are all carefully orchestrated). It has been in the news for the past five years at least, right since Indica was put into the markets. The strife at Singur gave some unwanted publicity to the project.

So what do we know about the car as yet?

• It is tentatively called People’s Car. ( Well, there was a lot of media speculation about Indica’s name, prior to its launch. So, this was to be expected.)
• Supposedly, quite robust, even if a bit light. (A lot of plastics have been used instead of metal to cut down on weight. Also, many nut bolts have been eliminated. This gives Tatas the additional leverage for minimal human handling to reduce cost.)
• Should be fuel-economical. (Media speculation says it
  will be doing approx 25 kms to a litre of petrol. That seems to be on par, if not better than 800 and Zen.)
• Spacious enough for four people to fit into quite
  comfortably.
• Other stuff we hear is it is Euro IV compliant as far as
  emissions are concerned, its performance is on par with 800, there will be no compromise on safety etc.

The main plank on which the car is being marketed (and not
sold, mind you) is the cost of acquisition to the consumer. Its called the Rs. 1 lac car, probably the base model would roughly be in the range of Rs. 1.25 lacs, making it the cheapest car in the world. Experts believe, Indian consumers, who use two-wheelers to graduate to this vehicle.

Even if we assume the car to be fuel-efficient among the four wheelers, it definitely is less fuel-efficient than a two-wheeler, which gives about 80 kms to a litre. So, its definitely going to add to the existing pollution levels in the country. Apart from this, the current chaos on Indian roads is going to worsen. India does not have the infrastructure to cater to these additional vehicles (please don’t forget that other car manufacturers already
sell close to about 10 lac car per year).

Apart from this, the car has the capacity to completely
shake up the automobile market just like the Japanese car companies did in seventies and eighties. In the near term, it puts at risk the existence of 800 and other small cars, including its own elder sister, the Indica. The lessons gained from this re-engineering to produce low cost cars is going to be applied
to all the other vehicles, thereby reducing the cost to stay competitive. Renault has already announced its decision to work on $3000 car. Soon, the new manufacturing practices will move to other parts of the globe, thereby revolutionizing the entire manufacturing sector.