Tata Motors has disclosed that it is working with General Electric's plastics division to develop solutions for its forthcoming ultra-low cost small car.Widely referred to in India as the "Rs 1-lakh" (100,000 rupees) car, the Tata project could be a breakthrough product for the company, with potential domestic sales of 1 million units per year. The four-door, rear-engine car will sell for only $2,200 - less than half the price of current entry level cars in the Indian market.
Tata chairman Ratan Tata has stated that the small car will make extensive use of plastics for the body, replacing welding with adhesives to decrease assembly costs. In an effort to cut down on distribution costs, the company is considering shipping modular car kits to small, local business units combining assembly, sales and service under one roof.
GE plastics are already in widespread use by automakers, primarily with a view to reducing weight (thereby increasing fuel efficiency). The Smart ForTwo makes extensive use of plastic body components, and BMW's 6-Series uses GE plastic front fenders.
[Sources: Reuters, Hindu Business Online, GE PLastics]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
WedgeTalon @ Jul 12th 2006 1:29PM
If this thing is actually safe to drive (or rather, safe in collisions), is reasonably reliable, and still packs enough oomf, I would definitely consider picking up a car (or two) for $2.5K each. IMO the ultra-low cost car market is one that is vastly neglected over here in the states.
Raj @ Jul 12th 2006 1:42PM
One of the first thing Americans will do is start making fun of this news item, and there lies their defeat as far as automotive business go.
Peter @ Jul 12th 2006 2:24PM
I'd suspect it wouldn't be considered safe to drive on US roads, nor would it have the 'oomph' that car makers think American cars should have. But in India, where scooters are popular and cities are congested, it'd be a great product. I'm interested to know what they'll be using for the motor.
Bill @ Jul 12th 2006 3:05PM
Definately not for the US market, but interesting.
Does anybody remember the plastic panelled Chrysler "CCV" concept car from several years back?
It looked kind of like a Citroen 2CV, and it was a concept for an ultra-low cost car for China and India. I believe it had plastic panels with the color impregnated (not painted) and a 2-cyl Briggs & Stratton Engine.
Greg A. @ Jul 12th 2006 9:55PM
#2 "One of the first thing Americans will do is start making fun of this news item, and there lies their defeat as far as automotive business go."
Raj, I believe you mean we might make fun of the car because of its very low cost, but what about something like this:
One who considers buying plastic tatas should avoid the cheapest ones.
hmmm @ Jul 12th 2006 10:26PM
the chrysler 1996 ccv concept click this
http://www.carstyling.ru/resources/concept/96chrysler_ccv.jpg
Glenn A. @ Jul 13th 2006 9:35AM
Raj, most of us who are "car guys" in the states, and who study worldwide auto makers, know that Tata is actually an up-and-coming manufacturer. In fact, there was something written some while ago that showed Tata was nearly as "rich" in resources (read: MONEY on
hand) as General Motors is.
Plus we know that Tata sell vehicles in the UK (my brother-in-law has a Tata 4 door pickup truck
with diesel and he loves it - he is a plasterer by trade) and also that Tata sold the Indica under the Rover badge in the UK until Rover rolled over and played dead (sorry, I couldn't resist that very little
joke).
Currently, I believe that the least expensive car made
in the world is the SeAZ Oka, from Russia, at $2900 retail equivalent price. See the little rascal at the internet site globalautoindex.com
Tata are not some fly-by-night outfit, either. I believe they date from the mid 19th century as a company (railroad engines I believe) and date from 1945 with trucks, and are quite large. globalautoindex.org also have a site on them, as well as all auto manufacturers in the world.
The next question - will Tata be able to export their upcoming new Crossovers to the United States? It does not seem to be a bad effort at all. Look for yourselves, guys and gals. Again in the "news" link in the Tata chapter of autoindex.org.
I tried posting this about 6 times and no results.
I think autoblog is so buggy as to be nearly useless these days, can't you guys fix this thing?
Tad @ Jul 17th 2006 7:31PM
that is a realistic price. I read an artical from deutsche bank that the VW Golf/Jetta costs VW only $2468 to build. They sell the car for what $18,000-$30,000 . Renault builds it's Logan car for about a $1089 . Shocking isn't it. Add high labor costs and salaries plus health care and big profit... wow. look what happens.
Janardhan @ Jul 24th 2006 10:53AM
I seriously have my reservations about how well the $2500 car will fare in India. I think this is a sort of a retrograde step. With the ease with which car loans are available in India and rising incomes, people seem to be graduating directly from two wheelers to bigger, safer cars. (I don't think a Rs. 1 lakh plastic car can ever be safe, even in the city!!)
Evidence for this is that the Maruti Suzuki 800 (the cheapest car available in India today - about $5000) has been topping the monthly sales numbers for about 10 years (selling about 16,000 units a month). However, since last year things have changed a lot, and the Maruti Suzuki Alto (which is anywhere between 25 to 50% costlier than the 800) has started to lead the numbers game. Biting at the heels of the Alto are also cars like the Hyundai Santro, the Wagon R, and not so far behind the absolutely amazing Maruti Suzuki Swift.
What I'm trying to say that the Indian car buyer (even the first timer) has definitely come of age and is much more exacting in terms of currency of model, safety, features like power windows, air conditioning etc., and brand image.
Even in the two wheeler segment (bikes) the trend is steadily moving towards bigger engine capacities, and luxury features like alloy wheels even on entry level bikes. So much so that the second largest motorbike manufacturer in India, Bajaj has decided to completely pull out of the 100cc entry level segment and concentrate more on 150cc and above bikes. (They recently launched the Bajaj Pulsar 225 cc DTS-FI bike with digital instruments, alloy wheels, fuel injection et al)
A lot of folks will be familiar with the failure of the Reva Electric car in India, which is of similar dimensions as what the Tata car is expected to have. Well of course the Reva costs more than the 800, but still factors like safety and brand image assume pretty high priority for entry level car buyers in India these days. That's why a lot of us have stayed away from the Reva.
I am proud to be an Indian, and really hope that the Tata car will be a success, but I can't help having my doubts...
Olive Liu (Ms.) @ Aug 9th 2006 3:34AM
Dear Sir/Madam,
We are the manufacture of ODM/OEM injection mold & customized plastic mass production. Please let me know which kind plastic parts you need then send drawing to us, we could provide you the quotation with tooling charge of injection mold and unit price of plastic products soon.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Best Regards,
Olive Liu.
Deidre @ Aug 11th 2006 1:51PM
ya its 2200$ there how much are they going to sell here for 22000$?
U.NAGABHUSHANA AITHAL @ Aug 16th 2006 3:35AM
We have good injection moulding set up in Bangalore (India). We are able to cater highly precision moulded components up to 70 gm, moulded using robot controlled NIIGATA -Japan Injection moulding machines. We are in the process in implementing ISO 9000 and TS-16949 quality standards.
Our Factory is located at Yelanka, Bangalore where international airport is proposed, our factory area is about 3500 sq. ft.
We do take all type of assembly also.
We look forward to your positive response.
Our contact number is 91 9980013315
With best regards,
Nagabhushana Aithal
Aman @ Oct 2nd 2006 3:23PM
I wouldnt say the car is good or bad because it is a relative term. I have seen a good majority of people who are eagerly waiting for the launch of this car. India has lot of diversity, rich from poor, average middle class to upper middle class. People who have scooters can now think of this car as their family can travel altogether. Again Safety is a relative term. Safety is of course poorer than Mercedes Benz but better than a two wheeler.
I appreciate the Tata`s for looking at the segment which is completely ignored by the Automakers all over the world.
I have seen Smart from Mercedes doing well in Europe then why cant Tata`s 1 Lac car perform.